A recent study by Forrester (2022) found that over 80% of employers expect their workers to have data skills, and that 70% of employees expect to use data heavily by 2025—but that only 40% of employees believed they are being equipped with the essential data skills they need..Forrester reports that providing data skills for all employees leads to improved decision making, increased innovation, improved productivity, and a better customer and employee experience.

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A recent member survey by the Institute found that Data Literacy is the single most important issue for employers and members. Over 50% of member organisations report that they will invest in data skills training for all employees within the next 24 months.

The Analytics Institute has brought together an Industry Advisory Council (IAC) on Data Literacy including senior executives from leading organisations to create our Data Literacy programme backed by industry experts.

Data Literacy Programme

The Data Literacy Training Programme will help organisations to address data literacy gaps across the organisation. Each organisation will have the ability to self-assess and identify the gaps in their skills profile and to address these gaps through the Data Smart training programme.

Disciplines

The Data Literacy Framework consists of 7 graduated disciplines:

  • Data Foundations: An introduction into the world of data, why it is important to businesses today and key data concepts.

  • Data Collection & Management: Why its important what data you collect both for business uses and ethically.

  • Data Analysis: The tools available to analyse data and problem-solving

  • Data Interpretation: Understanding how to interpret, visualise and communicate data 

  • Data Application: How to apply data insights to the business keeping in mind governance.

  • The Future of Data: AI and its implications for business.

Personas

All employees in an organisation use data and react to data differently. The level of data literacy they need depends on their job roles and their decision-making requirements. By identifying personas, organisations can create tailored learning paths and align learning objectives with business outcomes. The Data Literacy Framework has identified 4 common personas in relation to data in the workplace:

Data Consumer

A data consumer uses data for a specific purpose to inform their work.

Data Collector

A data collector undertakes the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system.

Data Analyst

A data analyst analyses large sets of data to derive insights and inform decision-making.

Data Interpreter

A data interpreter assigns meaning to collected information and determines and communicates the findings' conclusions, significance, and implications.