New Qlik Study Reveals the Pressing Need for Data Literacy Training
Data Literacy training has been shown to be a high priority from a recent report. Qlik, in partnership with The Future Labs have published the report, Data Literacy: The Upskilling Evolution. The report combines insights from expert interviews, with surveys from over 1,200 global C-level executives and 6,000 employees*. Some of the most striking findings include:
- 11% of global employees surveyed felt fully confident in their Data Literacy skills.
- 58% Of employee respondents thought Data Literacy would help keep them relevant in their role with the onset of AI.
- US employees could add $11K USD to their annual salary with Data Literacy skills.
- Just over one in five employees believed their employer was preparing them for a more data-oriented and automated workplace (21%).
- 35% of employees changed jobs in the last year as their employer did not offer enough upskilling and training opportunities.
Across the geographies surveyed, the findings in the report were largely consistent. The report reveals how the rapid growth in data usage has contributed to extended enterprise aspirations and transformed working practices. Organisations will continue to shift from passive data consumption toward a state of Active Intelligence™. Through Active Intelligence continuous data becomes integrated into working practices to trigger immediate actions. The report predicts how this will impact skills requirements and professional opportunities.
Workplace Data Literacy
Data Literacy is the ability to read, work with, analyse, and communicate with data. Business leaders and employees both predicted that Data Literacy will be the most in-demand skill by 2030. 85% of executives expressed that Data Literacy will become as vital as the ability to use a computer is today.
Global employees surveyed reported their use of data and its importance in decision-making has doubled over the past year. While 89% of executives expected all team members to be able to explain how data has informed their decisions.
Underpinning more intelligent and automated working practices
The demand for data skills reflects the significant shift in the workplace, due to the rise of AI. The enterprise leaders who took part in the study believed employee working practices would change to become more collaborative. With intelligent tools helping them make better decisions (84%) and become more productive (83%).
40% of C-level respondents predicted their organisation would hire a Chief Automation Officer within the next 3 years. Rising to above 99% within the next decade. 58% of employees surveyed believed that Data Literacy would help them stay relevant in their role with the growing use of AI.
“We often hear people talk about how employees need to understand how Artificial Intelligence will change how they complete their role, but more importantly we need to be helping them develop the skills that enable them to add value to the output of these intelligent algorithms…
Data Literacy will be critical in extending workplace collaboration beyond human-to-human engagements, to employees augmenting machine intelligence with creativity and critical thinking.”
Elif Tutuk, VP of Innovation & Design at Qlik
The impact of Data Literacy on the talent market
The shift toward a more data-oriented and automated workplace creates a massive opportunity for those with Data Literacy skills. All business leaders surveyed reported that they would offer a salary increase for candidates that could demonstrate their Data Literacy. On average, they would offer a 26% salary increase for demonstrating this skill set. For the average US employee, this translates into an additional $11K USD to their annual salary**.
Only 11% of the employees surveyed felt fully confident in their Data Literacy skills. A prevalent belief among enterprise leaders is that the individual is responsible, not the current employer, to upskill and equip for the future.
Employers offered employees in specific data related roles (including data analysts and data scientists) Data Literacy training the most (58%). The statistics for organisations that offered Data Literacy training to other departments were very different: one-in-10 organisations offered Data Literacy training to those in HR, finance and marketing (12%, 11%, and 10% respectively) despite the fact that more than two-thirds of employees who worked in these functions stated that Data Literacy was already necessary to fulfil their current role (70%, 74%, and 67%).
Employees invested their own time and money (64%) to undertake the independent learning needed for the future enterprise. They spent an average of nearly 7 hours each month and just short of $2,800 USD each year. Some employees voted with their feet, 35% of employees reported having left a job in the past 12 months due to their employer not offering enough upskilling and training opportunities.
“Over the past few years, investments in digitizing most business processes have transformed the data resources available, and this will continue as we move toward a more intelligent and automated workplace…
But investment in leading-edge data platforms has revealed a large—and expanding—gap in Data Literacy skills in the workforce. To become a data-driven company, where employees regularly use data and analytics to make better decisions and take informed actions, business leaders need to make investments in upskilling workers in every role to close the Data Literacy gap.”
Dr. Paul Barth, Global Head of Data Literacy at Qlik
*About the research
Data Literacy: The Upskilling Evolution is based on research conducted by Censuswide of 1,209 C-level executives and 6,197 global full-time employees in organizations of 50+ employees in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2021.
**To calculate the average salary increase for U.S. employees, the percentage average salary increase that would be offered by U.S. C-level executives (19.53%) was calculated against the most recent average yearly salary shared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USD $56,310 in 2020).
Differentia Consulting Data Literacy Workshop
For more information about how we can provide your organisation with Data Literacy training contact us at: [email protected]
