Problem-Solving Job Trends in the West Midlands

Problem Solving
England > West Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the West Midlands requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 22 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
22 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 18 4 6
Rank change year-on-year -14 +2 +4
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 547 832 505
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 10.55% 18.86% 16.67%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 12.67% 20.92% 18.12%
Number of salaries quoted 402 325 447
10th Percentile £26,250 £32,250 £28,500
25th Percentile £30,313 £41,250 £31,552
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,618 £55,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -22.51% +10.00% +3.63%
75th Percentile £58,750 £66,250 £61,875
90th Percentile £77,375 £93,500 £70,000
England median annual salary £45,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -18.18% - -

All Process and Methodology Skills
West Midlands

Problem-Solving falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the West Midlands.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 4,318 3,978 2,787
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 83.31% 90.16% 91.98%
Number of salaries quoted 2,214 1,784 2,382
10th Percentile £29,000 £32,254 £26,500
25th Percentile £37,750 £41,250 £35,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £55,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £67,500 £70,000 £63,750
90th Percentile £82,500 £82,500 £77,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% - -4.00%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Problem-Solving relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands.

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Salary Trend in the West Midlands

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Problem-Solving.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Salary Histogram in the West Midlands

Salary distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 22 December 2025.

Salary histogram for Problem-Solving in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Job Locations in the West Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Problem-Solving within the West Midlands region over the 6 months to 22 December 2025. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Birmingham -5 163 £47,500 -18.10% 115
Staffordshire -9 108 £38,500 -23.00% 82
Warwickshire -12 59 £40,500 -19.00% 35
Worcestershire -12 41 £31,500 -48.86% 23
Herefordshire +6 33 £43,000 +64.12% 6
Shropshire -12 32 £47,500 +5.56% 30
Solihull -1 24 £86,250 +32.69% 7
Coventry -8 19 £52,774 -2.72% 13
Halesowen +1 14 £32,500 -
Walsall +3 13 £45,000 +42.86% 6
Wednesbury -5 5 £42,500 -5.56%
Dudley -5 2 £75,000 +114.29% 4
Kingswinford -8 2 £45,250 +20.67%
Wolverhampton -15 1 £65,000 +44.44% 43
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 25 (4.57%) SharePoint
2 13 (2.38%) IIS
2 13 (2.38%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (1.10%) Apache
4 3 (0.55%) Oracle SOA Suite
5 2 (0.37%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.37%) Confluence
5 2 (0.37%) Exchange Server 2007
5 2 (0.37%) Exchange Server 2010
5 2 (0.37%) Exchange Server 2013
6 1 (0.18%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.18%) Appian
6 1 (0.18%) HCL Notes
6 1 (0.18%) NServiceBus
6 1 (0.18%) SAS
6 1 (0.18%) WebLogic
Applications
1 70 (12.80%) Microsoft Excel
2 30 (5.48%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.65%) Spreadsheet
4 8 (1.46%) AutoCAD
4 8 (1.46%) SOLIDWORKS
5 5 (0.91%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.91%) Microsoft Project
6 3 (0.55%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.55%) Trello
7 1 (0.18%) Abaqus
7 1 (0.18%) Revit
7 1 (0.18%) Sketch
Business Applications
1 21 (3.84%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.28%) NetSuite
3 4 (0.73%) SAP FI
4 3 (0.55%) Dynamics NAV
5 2 (0.37%) Infor CloudSuite Industrial (formerly SyteLine)
5 2 (0.37%) iTrent
5 2 (0.37%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle EBS R12
6 1 (0.18%) Sage X3
6 1 (0.18%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 100 (18.28%) Azure
2 68 (12.43%) Microsoft 365
3 57 (10.42%) Power Platform
4 35 (6.40%) SaaS
5 30 (5.48%) AWS
6 20 (3.66%) Dynamics 365
7 12 (2.19%) Power Automate
8 11 (2.01%) PowerApps
9 10 (1.83%) Azure DevOps
9 10 (1.83%) Entra ID
9 10 (1.83%) GCP
10 7 (1.28%) Azure Data Factory
11 6 (1.10%) Serverless
12 5 (0.91%) Amazon S3
12 5 (0.91%) OCI
12 5 (0.91%) Snowflake
13 4 (0.73%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 4 (0.73%) Amazon EC2
13 4 (0.73%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 4 (0.73%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 26 (4.75%) WAN
2 23 (4.20%) Firewall
3 22 (4.02%) LAN
4 21 (3.84%) VPN
5 20 (3.66%) DNS
6 18 (3.29%) Wi-Fi
7 16 (2.93%) DHCP
7 16 (2.93%) Internet
8 12 (2.19%) Wireless
9 9 (1.65%) ADSL
9 9 (1.65%) Ethernet
9 9 (1.65%) VDSL
9 9 (1.65%) VoIP
10 7 (1.28%) Broadband
11 6 (1.10%) Remote Desktop
11 6 (1.10%) TCP/IP
12 5 (0.91%) Bluetooth
12 5 (0.91%) PBX
12 5 (0.91%) SD-WAN
13 3 (0.55%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 50 (9.14%) Power BI
2 37 (6.76%) SQL Server
3 18 (3.29%) Relational Database
4 16 (2.93%) MySQL
5 14 (2.56%) GIS
6 11 (2.01%) Tableau
7 10 (1.83%) PostgreSQL
7 10 (1.83%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 9 (1.65%) Oracle Reports
9 6 (1.10%) Crystal Reports
9 6 (1.10%) Metadata
10 5 (0.91%) Amazon RDS
10 5 (0.91%) BusinessObjects
10 5 (0.91%) Data Mining
11 4 (0.73%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 3 (0.55%) Azure SQL Database
12 3 (0.55%) Data Lake
12 3 (0.55%) Data Warehouse
13 2 (0.37%) MongoDB
13 2 (0.37%) TimescaleDB
Development Applications
1 19 (3.47%) JIRA
2 16 (2.93%) Git
3 5 (0.91%) GitLab
3 5 (0.91%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.73%) JUnit
5 3 (0.55%) Appcelerator Titanium
5 3 (0.55%) Maven
5 3 (0.55%) Mockito
6 2 (0.37%) Subversion
6 2 (0.37%) Vagrant
6 2 (0.37%) Visual Studio Code
7 1 (0.18%) Babel
7 1 (0.18%) Balsamiq
7 1 (0.18%) Cypress.io
7 1 (0.18%) ERwin
7 1 (0.18%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.18%) Selenium
7 1 (0.18%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.18%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.18%) webpack
General
1 281 (51.37%) Social Skills
2 157 (28.70%) Finance
3 135 (24.68%) Analytical Skills
4 74 (13.53%) Manufacturing
5 57 (10.42%) Retail
6 36 (6.58%) Legal
7 33 (6.03%) Law
8 32 (5.85%) Public Sector
9 31 (5.67%) Marketing
10 27 (4.94%) Digital Health
10 27 (4.94%) Organisational Skills
11 23 (4.20%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 14 (2.56%) Fire and Rescue
13 13 (2.38%) Presentation Skills
13 13 (2.38%) Telecoms
14 10 (1.83%) Banking
15 9 (1.65%) Electronics
16 7 (1.28%) Aerospace
16 7 (1.28%) Automotive
17 5 (0.91%) Games
Job Titles
1 83 (15.17%) Support Engineer
2 72 (13.16%) Analyst
3 60 (10.97%) IT Support
4 54 (9.87%) Developer
4 54 (9.87%) Technical Support
5 53 (9.69%) Technical Engineer
6 51 (9.32%) Technical Support Engineer
7 48 (8.78%) Senior
8 41 (7.50%) Lead
9 25 (4.57%) IT Engineer
10 24 (4.39%) Architect
11 22 (4.02%) 2nd Line Support
12 21 (3.84%) Support Analyst
13 20 (3.66%) Applications Support
14 16 (2.93%) Administrator
14 16 (2.93%) IT Support Engineer
15 14 (2.56%) Business Analyst
15 14 (2.56%) Network Engineer
16 13 (2.38%) Senior Analyst
17 11 (2.01%) Applications Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (5.30%) .NET
2 21 (3.84%) React
2 21 (3.84%) REST
3 15 (2.74%) AngularJS
3 15 (2.74%) JSON
4 11 (2.01%) HTML
4 11 (2.01%) Razor View Engine
5 7 (1.28%) CSS
6 6 (1.10%) EDI
6 6 (1.10%) LAMP
7 5 (0.91%) Node.js
7 5 (0.91%) RESTful
7 5 (0.91%) Vue
8 4 (0.73%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.73%) Oracle Fusion
8 4 (0.73%) Spring
8 4 (0.73%) Web Services
8 4 (0.73%) WPF
8 4 (0.73%) XML
9 3 (0.55%) ODBC
Miscellaneous
1 37 (6.76%) Onboarding
2 34 (6.22%) FMCG
3 33 (6.03%) Driving Licence
4 32 (5.85%) Self-Motivation
5 15 (2.74%) SCADA
6 14 (2.56%) Analytical Mindset
7 13 (2.38%) Management Information System
8 11 (2.01%) Operational Technology
8 11 (2.01%) Product Ownership
9 10 (1.83%) Data Centre
9 10 (1.83%) Legacy Systems
10 9 (1.65%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
11 8 (1.46%) IoT
12 7 (1.28%) Linux Command Line
12 7 (1.28%) Social Media
13 6 (1.10%) PDA
13 6 (1.10%) Virtual Team
14 5 (0.91%) Data Structures
14 5 (0.91%) Embedded Systems
14 5 (0.91%) EPoS
Operating Systems
1 66 (12.07%) Windows
2 22 (4.02%) Windows 10
3 19 (3.47%) Linux
4 9 (1.65%) Apple iOS
5 2 (0.37%) Unix
5 2 (0.37%) VMS
5 2 (0.37%) Windows 7
6 1 (0.18%) Android
6 1 (0.18%) Ubuntu
6 1 (0.18%) Windows Mobile
6 1 (0.18%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 125 (22.85%) Continuous Improvement
2 71 (12.98%) Agile
3 69 (12.61%) Project Management
4 59 (10.79%) Business Intelligence
5 57 (10.42%) Customer Service
6 53 (9.69%) Decision-Making
7 50 (9.14%) ITIL
8 49 (8.96%) Analytics
9 42 (7.68%) Logistics
10 40 (7.31%) CRM
11 38 (6.95%) ERP
12 37 (6.76%) Data Analysis
13 36 (6.58%) Roadmaps
14 33 (6.03%) Mentoring
15 32 (5.85%) Migration
16 31 (5.67%) Customer Experience
17 30 (5.48%) Process Improvement
18 29 (5.30%) Computer Science
19 27 (4.94%) Preventative Maintenance
19 27 (4.94%) Stakeholder Management
Programming Languages
1 101 (18.46%) SQL
2 52 (9.51%) Python
3 40 (7.31%) C#
4 33 (6.03%) JavaScript
5 24 (4.39%) Java
6 22 (4.02%) PowerShell
7 16 (2.93%) PHP
8 13 (2.38%) T-SQL
9 8 (1.46%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 7 (1.28%) C++
11 6 (1.10%) Bash
11 6 (1.10%) TypeScript
12 5 (0.91%) Ladder Logic
12 5 (0.91%) R
13 4 (0.73%) C
13 4 (0.73%) Go
14 3 (0.55%) Delphi
14 3 (0.55%) PL/SQL
14 3 (0.55%) VB.NET
15 2 (0.37%) VB
Qualifications
1 104 (19.01%) Degree
2 55 (10.05%) Security Cleared
3 35 (6.40%) SC Cleared
4 22 (4.02%) Computer Science Degree
5 17 (3.11%) BPSS Clearance
6 16 (2.93%) ACCA
6 16 (2.93%) CIMA
7 12 (2.19%) Microsoft Certification
8 11 (2.01%) DBS Check
8 11 (2.01%) Master's Degree
9 10 (1.83%) DV Cleared
10 8 (1.46%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 7 (1.28%) AAT
12 6 (1.10%) CISSP
13 5 (0.91%) AWS Certification
13 5 (0.91%) Cisco Certification
13 5 (0.91%) CISM
13 5 (0.91%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
14 4 (0.73%) CIPD
15 3 (0.55%) CITP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (4.39%) Data Quality
2 15 (2.74%) QA
3 12 (2.19%) SLA
4 10 (1.83%) GDPR
4 10 (1.83%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 6 (1.10%) NIST
6 5 (0.91%) Cyber Essentials
6 5 (0.91%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 3 (0.55%) Actionable Recommendations
7 3 (0.55%) PMO
8 2 (0.37%) COBIT
8 2 (0.37%) Government Security Classifications
8 2 (0.37%) HIPAA
8 2 (0.37%) ISO 9001
8 2 (0.37%) ISO/IEC 19770
9 1 (0.18%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 1 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.18%) SOC 2
9 1 (0.18%) WCAG
System Software
1 30 (5.48%) Active Directory
2 15 (2.74%) Docker
3 9 (1.65%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.37%) Firmware
4 2 (0.37%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.18%) VMware ESXi
5 1 (0.18%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 14 (2.56%) Kubernetes
2 12 (2.19%) Terraform
3 10 (1.83%) Microsoft Intune
4 3 (0.55%) Ansible
4 3 (0.55%) Nagios
5 2 (0.37%) FortiGate
5 2 (0.37%) Grafana
6 1 (0.18%) Argo
6 1 (0.18%) AWS Copilot
6 1 (0.18%) HP Quality Center
6 1 (0.18%) Prometheus
6 1 (0.18%) SCCM
6 1 (0.18%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.18%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
Vendors
1 148 (27.06%) Microsoft
2 32 (5.85%) Oracle
3 30 (5.48%) SAP
4 14 (2.56%) Databricks
5 13 (2.38%) Cisco
6 9 (1.65%) Salesforce
6 9 (1.65%) ServiceNow
6 9 (1.65%) VMware
7 8 (1.46%) Dell
7 8 (1.46%) Sage
8 7 (1.28%) Infor
9 6 (1.10%) Google
9 6 (1.10%) Juniper
9 6 (1.10%) McAfee
9 6 (1.10%) Meraki
10 5 (0.91%) Epicor
10 5 (0.91%) Panasonic
10 5 (0.91%) Samsung
11 4 (0.73%) Apple
12 3 (0.55%) Cognos