Social Skills Job Trends in the West Midlands

Social Skills (Interpersonal, Communication)
England > West Midlands

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Social Skills in permanent job vacancies in the West Midlands. Included is a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered in vacancies that cited Social Skills over the 6 months leading up to 18 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 1 1 1
Rank change year-on-year 0 0 +1
Permanent jobs citing Social Skills 1,707 1,040 1,451
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 28.75% 26.50% 26.98%
As % of the General category 51.65% 41.52% 44.24%
Number of salaries quoted 486 499 1,194
10th Percentile £28,000 £31,250 £24,696
25th Percentile £36,250 £38,750 £28,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £47,500 £52,398 £44,500
Median % change year-on-year -9.35% +17.75% -11.00%
75th Percentile £63,750 £63,750 £57,500
90th Percentile £78,873 £77,500 £70,000
England median annual salary £50,000 £57,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -13.04% +15.00% -13.39%

All General Skills
West Midlands

Social Skills falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring general skills in the West Midlands.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for general skills 3,305 2,505 3,280
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 55.66% 63.84% 60.98%
Number of salaries quoted 1,497 1,086 2,626
10th Percentile £28,250 £32,500 £25,750
25th Percentile £35,000 £40,625 £32,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £48,000 £53,300 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -9.94% +12.21% -9.52%
75th Percentile £65,000 £65,886 £63,088
90th Percentile £80,000 £79,050 £75,772
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% +9.09% -12.00%

Social Skills
Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands

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

Social Skills job vacancy trend in the West Midlands

Social Skills
Salary Trend in the West Midlands

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Social Skills.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Social Skills

Social Skills
Salary Histogram in the West Midlands

Salary distribution for jobs citing Social Skills in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 18 February 2026.

Salary histogram for Social Skills in the West Midlands

Social Skills
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 Social Skills within the West Midlands region over the 6 months to 18 February 2026. 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
Staffordshire 0 367 £35,000 -30.00% 39
Birmingham -1 303 £60,000 +4.35% 153
Warwickshire +1 278 £36,250 -27.50% 84
Worcestershire +1 219 £39,000 -40.00% 34
Shropshire +1 100 £41,500 -10.27% 52
Coventry +1 56 £52,500 - 25
Wolverhampton +6 49 £54,000 +18.68% 10
Herefordshire +3 44 £52,500 +58.61% 10
Solihull +3 33 £87,500 +62.79% 18
Halesowen - 20 £32,500 - 2
Sutton Coldfield +5 16 £90,000 -
Walsall +11 13 £45,000 +17.65% 4
Wednesbury 0 12 £42,500 +32.81% 1
Kingswinford +1 10 £45,250 +20.67%
Brierley Hill - 9 - - 1
Tipton - 9 - - 1
Stourbridge - 9 - - 1
Dudley +1 8 - - 3
West Bromwich -1 8 £47,500 - 1
Bilston - 8 - -
Smethwick - 8 - -
Rowley Regis - 7 - -
Willenhall - 6 - - 1
Social Skills
England

Social Skills
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 38 (2.23%) SharePoint
2 16 (0.94%) IIS
3 14 (0.82%) Microsoft Exchange
4 6 (0.35%) Apache
4 6 (0.35%) WordPress
5 4 (0.23%) CMS
5 4 (0.23%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 3 (0.18%) Umbraco
7 2 (0.12%) Confluence
7 2 (0.12%) NServiceBus
8 1 (0.059%) Apache Airflow
8 1 (0.059%) ArcGIS
8 1 (0.059%) Palantir Foundry
8 1 (0.059%) SAS
8 1 (0.059%) WebLogic
Applications
1 119 (6.97%) Microsoft Excel
2 43 (2.52%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (1.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (0.64%) MS Visio
5 10 (0.59%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (0.29%) EPLAN
7 3 (0.18%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 3 (0.18%) Adobe Illustrator
7 3 (0.18%) Chatbot
7 3 (0.18%) Photoshop
7 3 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
8 2 (0.12%) InDesign
8 2 (0.12%) Trello
9 1 (0.059%) Abaqus
9 1 (0.059%) Acrobat
9 1 (0.059%) CATIA
9 1 (0.059%) PTC Creo
9 1 (0.059%) Revit
9 1 (0.059%) Simulink
9 1 (0.059%) Solid Edge
Business Applications
1 17 (1.00%) Dynamics CRM
2 12 (0.70%) NetSuite
3 8 (0.47%) SAP S/4HANA
4 6 (0.35%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.29%) Dynamics NAV
5 5 (0.29%) Maximo
6 4 (0.23%) Unit4 Business World
7 3 (0.18%) Remedy ITSM
8 2 (0.12%) Integrated Workplace Management System
8 2 (0.12%) Primavera
8 2 (0.12%) Shopify
9 1 (0.059%) Exchequer
9 1 (0.059%) iTrent
9 1 (0.059%) Oracle EBS
9 1 (0.059%) Raiser’s Edge
9 1 (0.059%) Salesforce CRM
9 1 (0.059%) SAP HCM
9 1 (0.059%) SAP Payroll
9 1 (0.059%) Sprinklr
9 1 (0.059%) TRIRIGA
Cloud Services
1 916 (53.66%) Cloud Computing
2 264 (15.47%) Azure
3 99 (5.80%) Power Platform
4 77 (4.51%) Microsoft 365
5 51 (2.99%) AWS
5 51 (2.99%) Azure AI
6 40 (2.34%) SaaS
7 33 (1.93%) Entra ID
8 28 (1.64%) Dynamics 365
9 21 (1.23%) Azure DevOps
10 18 (1.05%) Power Automate
11 17 (1.00%) Azure Data Factory
11 17 (1.00%) PowerApps
12 11 (0.64%) GCP
13 10 (0.59%) IaaS
13 10 (0.59%) Serverless
14 8 (0.47%) PaaS
15 7 (0.41%) OneDrive
16 6 (0.35%) Azure Synapse Analytics
17 5 (0.29%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 926 (54.25%) Internet
2 32 (1.87%) VPN
3 30 (1.76%) DNS
4 27 (1.58%) DHCP
5 25 (1.46%) Wi-Fi
6 23 (1.35%) Firewall
7 21 (1.23%) WAN
8 16 (0.94%) LAN
9 15 (0.88%) VoIP
10 12 (0.70%) Ethernet
11 11 (0.64%) Wireless
12 9 (0.53%) ADSL
12 9 (0.53%) VDSL
13 8 (0.47%) Broadband
13 8 (0.47%) SD-WAN
13 8 (0.47%) VLAN
14 7 (0.41%) PBX
14 7 (0.41%) TCP/IP
15 5 (0.29%) BGP
15 5 (0.29%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 86 (5.04%) Power BI
2 52 (3.05%) Tableau
3 48 (2.81%) SQL Server
4 21 (1.23%) Relational Database
5 16 (0.94%) Data Warehouse
6 10 (0.59%) MySQL
7 9 (0.53%) Metadata
8 8 (0.47%) Azure SQL Database
8 8 (0.47%) PostgreSQL
8 8 (0.47%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 7 (0.41%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 6 (0.35%) Data Lake
11 5 (0.29%) Amazon RDS
11 5 (0.29%) Oracle Reports
12 4 (0.23%) Looker
13 3 (0.18%) Azure SQL Data Warehouse
14 2 (0.12%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
14 2 (0.12%) NoSQL
14 2 (0.12%) Power Query
14 2 (0.12%) TimescaleDB
Development Applications
1 20 (1.17%) Git
2 13 (0.76%) JIRA
3 6 (0.35%) GitLab
3 6 (0.35%) Jenkins
3 6 (0.35%) JUnit
4 4 (0.23%) Browser DevTools
4 4 (0.23%) Cucumber
4 4 (0.23%) Maven
4 4 (0.23%) Mockito
5 3 (0.18%) Postman
5 3 (0.18%) Selenium
6 2 (0.12%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 2 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
7 1 (0.059%) Balsamiq
7 1 (0.059%) Gatling
7 1 (0.059%) JMeter
7 1 (0.059%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.059%) SpecFlow
General
1 977 (57.23%) Inclusion and Diversity
2 925 (54.19%) Banking
3 152 (8.90%) Finance
4 127 (7.44%) Analytical Skills
5 86 (5.04%) Manufacturing
6 67 (3.93%) Public Sector
7 47 (2.75%) Legal
7 47 (2.75%) Organisational Skills
8 41 (2.40%) Retail
9 34 (1.99%) Marketing
10 27 (1.58%) Presentation Skills
11 19 (1.11%) Law
12 16 (0.94%) Telecoms
13 14 (0.82%) Documentation Skills
13 14 (0.82%) Electronics
14 13 (0.76%) Influencing Skills
15 9 (0.53%) Automotive
16 8 (0.47%) Advertising
17 6 (0.35%) Military
18 5 (0.29%) Games
Job Titles
1 681 (39.89%) Lecturer
2 200 (11.72%) Analyst
3 118 (6.91%) Junior
4 102 (5.98%) Junior Analyst
5 68 (3.98%) Support Engineer
6 59 (3.46%) Security Analyst
7 57 (3.34%) Data Analyst
7 57 (3.34%) Senior
8 55 (3.22%) Cybersecurity Analyst
9 51 (2.99%) Developer
9 51 (2.99%) Technical Support
10 50 (2.93%) Junior Data Analyst
10 50 (2.93%) Junior Security Analyst
11 43 (2.52%) Lead
12 39 (2.28%) Technical Engineer
12 39 (2.28%) Technical Support Engineer
13 38 (2.23%) Architect
14 34 (1.99%) IT Support
15 30 (1.76%) Support Analyst
16 25 (1.46%) IT Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (1.87%) REST
2 25 (1.46%) .NET
3 21 (1.23%) React
4 18 (1.05%) EDI
5 16 (0.94%) AngularJS
6 14 (0.82%) HTML
7 13 (0.76%) JSON
8 12 (0.70%) Razor View Engine
8 12 (0.70%) SOAP
9 10 (0.59%) CSS
9 10 (0.59%) LAMP
10 9 (0.53%) Middleware
11 8 (0.47%) SAML
12 7 (0.41%) OAuth
12 7 (0.41%) PySpark
12 7 (0.41%) Vue
13 6 (0.35%) BAPI
13 6 (0.35%) JMS
13 6 (0.35%) Node.js
13 6 (0.35%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 923 (54.07%) IoT
2 46 (2.69%) Driving Licence
3 44 (2.58%) Onboarding
4 39 (2.28%) Social Media
5 34 (1.99%) Digital Media
6 33 (1.93%) Management Information System
7 27 (1.58%) Self-Motivation
8 20 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
8 20 (1.17%) Product Ownership
9 17 (1.00%) Data Centre
10 15 (0.88%) Cyberattack
11 13 (0.76%) Legacy Systems
11 13 (0.76%) Operational Technology
12 12 (0.70%) Analytical Mindset
13 11 (0.64%) Cloud Native
14 10 (0.59%) Linux Command Line
15 8 (0.47%) Cyber Threat
15 8 (0.47%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
15 8 (0.47%) Public Cloud
15 8 (0.47%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 90 (5.27%) Windows
2 32 (1.87%) Linux
3 11 (0.64%) Apple iOS
4 10 (0.59%) Windows 10
5 8 (0.47%) Windows Server
6 3 (0.18%) Android
6 3 (0.18%) VMS
7 2 (0.12%) Unix
8 1 (0.059%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 1,042 (61.04%) Cybersecurity
2 1,005 (58.88%) AI
3 941 (55.13%) User Experience
4 925 (54.19%) Machine Learning
5 919 (53.84%) Web Development
6 248 (14.53%) Problem-Solving
7 127 (7.44%) Continuous Improvement
8 115 (6.74%) Agile
9 109 (6.39%) Business Intelligence
10 108 (6.33%) Mentoring
11 86 (5.04%) Stakeholder Management
12 78 (4.57%) Customer Service
13 74 (4.34%) Project Management
14 72 (4.22%) Decision-Making
15 70 (4.10%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 68 (3.98%) Roadmaps
17 66 (3.87%) ITIL
18 65 (3.81%) CRM
19 63 (3.69%) Analytics
20 59 (3.46%) ERP
Programming Languages
1 132 (7.73%) SQL
2 87 (5.10%) Python
3 41 (2.40%) JavaScript
4 33 (1.93%) C#
5 27 (1.58%) Java
6 24 (1.41%) PHP
7 16 (0.94%) PowerShell
8 10 (0.59%) T-SQL
9 8 (0.47%) C
9 8 (0.47%) Ladder Logic
10 7 (0.41%) Bash
11 5 (0.29%) TypeScript
12 4 (0.23%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 4 (0.23%) Delphi
12 4 (0.23%) PL/SQL
12 4 (0.23%) R
12 4 (0.23%) VBA
13 2 (0.12%) ABAP
13 2 (0.12%) C++
13 2 (0.12%) XAML
Qualifications
1 1,009 (59.11%) Degree
2 927 (54.31%) Master's Degree
3 915 (53.60%) PhD
3 915 (53.60%) Postgraduate
4 124 (7.26%) Azure Certification
5 64 (3.75%) Security Cleared
6 54 (3.16%) SC Cleared
7 52 (3.05%) CompTIA Security+
8 50 (2.93%) CompTIA CySA+
9 36 (2.11%) DBS Check
10 25 (1.46%) Computer Science Degree
11 21 (1.23%) BPSS Clearance
12 19 (1.11%) Microsoft Certification
13 16 (0.94%) CEH
14 12 (0.70%) AWS Certification
14 12 (0.70%) CISSP
14 12 (0.70%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 10 (0.59%) CISM
16 9 (0.53%) ACCA
16 9 (0.53%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (2.52%) QA
2 35 (2.05%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 22 (1.29%) GDPR
4 19 (1.11%) Cyber Essentials
5 18 (1.05%) Data Quality
5 18 (1.05%) NIST
6 14 (0.82%) Accessibility
6 14 (0.82%) PMO
7 11 (0.64%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 6 (0.35%) HIPAA
9 5 (0.29%) COBIT
9 5 (0.29%) ITGC
10 4 (0.23%) SLA
10 4 (0.23%) WCAG
11 3 (0.18%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 3 (0.18%) PCI DSS
12 2 (0.12%) Actionable Recommendations
12 2 (0.12%) ISO 9001
12 2 (0.12%) P3O
12 2 (0.12%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 29 (1.70%) Active Directory
2 15 (0.88%) Docker
3 13 (0.76%) VMware Infrastructure
4 9 (0.53%) Firmware
5 5 (0.29%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.18%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.059%) Embedded Firmware
7 1 (0.059%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 18 (1.05%) Kubernetes
2 16 (0.94%) Microsoft Intune
3 14 (0.82%) Terraform
4 8 (0.47%) Ansible
5 5 (0.29%) Single Sign-On
6 4 (0.23%) Grafana
7 3 (0.18%) Dell DRAC
7 3 (0.18%) FortiGate
8 1 (0.059%) CSIRT
8 1 (0.059%) EnCase
8 1 (0.059%) Jamf Pro
8 1 (0.059%) Nagios
8 1 (0.059%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.059%) QRadar
8 1 (0.059%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
Vendors
1 288 (16.87%) Microsoft
2 65 (3.81%) ForeScout
3 36 (2.11%) SAP
4 34 (1.99%) Oracle
5 26 (1.52%) Salesforce
6 17 (1.00%) Cisco
7 15 (0.88%) Adobe
7 15 (0.88%) Google
8 14 (0.82%) ServiceNow
8 14 (0.82%) VMware
9 11 (0.64%) Databricks
9 11 (0.64%) Meraki
10 10 (0.59%) IBM
10 10 (0.59%) Workday
11 8 (0.47%) Apple
12 7 (0.41%) Planon
13 6 (0.35%) HubSpot
13 6 (0.35%) Infor
13 6 (0.35%) Sage
13 6 (0.35%) Zscaler