Business and education: Solving the digital skills gap
The rise of technology and data across every industry has created a huge need for employees who understand the power that data holds when tackling complex business problems.
Companies are looking to hire individuals who can speak the language of data – those who can make the connection between the data on the screen and apply it to real-world business problems and make positive data-driven decisions.
However, there is currently a disconnect between the skills demanded by employers and those that recent graduates are able to offer once they’ve left university.
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In fact, recent research shows that 83% of professionals use data on a weekly basis and over four in five know data skills are vital for their career progression, yet only two in five of recent graduates think data analytics is important for employment.
The responsibility for a skilled workforce does not fall entirely on academic institutions. Talent retention and career progression should go hand in hand with business success. Therefore, it is also in the interest of all businesses to ensure the future working population are ready for and able to handle whatever needs companies may have now, and in the future.
While employers can do more to communicate the importance of data analytics to job-seeking students, schools and universities should push for these skills to become an integral part of today’s curriculum across all subjects.
Continuing to listen to the needs of our students - our future leaders - will determine our collaborative success in the future.
Thierry Driver, Academic Program Manager - EMEA, Tableau Software
