Data skills and human qualities go hand in hand

Data skills and human qualities go hand in handAs the UK bids to be a world leader in the tech sector, it is important that the workforce’s skills are supported throughout education, with human qualities that complement technology being a key focus. Here, Glyn Townsend discusses the changing landscape of digital skills in the UK and how anyone can get access to them.What we deem as an ‘essential skill’ when it comes to technology in work is constantly shifting to match the solutions we have available. From being comfortable using a basic computer, to understanding word processing and spreadsheet programs, to now – when the number of businesses beginning to capitalise on data and artificial intelligence (AI) in their day-to-day work is multiplying.While data skills have been an essential part of select industries for some time now, they are beginning to be required further afield. These changes promise many great opportunities for the UK workforce to learn and grow, but we must support staff with the right foundation of supporting skills, such as communication, creative thinking, and understanding how to develop trustworthy AI.At a recent event at Bradford University, my colleague Mark Thundercliffe, senior banking advisor to SAS , told an audience of more than 100 applied AI and data analytics students they have “a role and a responsibility to make sure they are knowledgeable, reliable, and use their skills for good purposes” as they embark on careers in technology.This sums up how the future landscape of our data skills education should look – while we need the pure data skills to do the ‘mechanics’ of analytics and data science work, it’s important to remember an underpinning of human skills and understanding to ensure that as data-driven jobs become more widespread they achieve the most good.THE WIDENING SCOPE OF DATA SKILLSIn its 2020 National Data Strategy , the UK Government recognised ‘data skills’ as one of four pillars needed to ensure that the UK benefits from emerging technology in the workforce.The breadth and depth of what we consider to be a basic ‘data skill’ is vast, yet is set to develop in scope as we take on new digital tools – understanding AI would not have fallen under this bracket 10 years ago, but could now be seen as part of widespread knowledge now, especially given the availability of tools such as ChatGPT.While the majority of industries won’t necessarily need lots of staff with an advanced level of data science and related skills, we will see a larger proportion of roles across all sectors requiring a higher baseline of understanding.Reflecting this, demand for new data roles is already changing in the UK, and in just the next two years we will have noticed the shift. The World Economic Forum predicted that data entry clerks and administrators will have declined in demand the most of any data job over the five years prior to 2025. Over the same period they predict the need for data analysts and scientists rising the most, highlighting this demand for a higher baseline of data skills.The UK is already behind in the race to fill current data jobs with the required skills. The government has highlighted the potential supply of data scientists from universities is unlikely to be more than 10,000 per year — yet there are around 215,000 roles for hard data skills that need to be filled.All industries require more staff with basic data literacy. The scale of work to fulfil this demand with new talent is becoming clear and it is important that we get this right when deciding how to use data in industries where usage ramps up.Applying technology or data in new industries is not a one size fits all glove, which is why we need people from varied backgrounds with existing knowledge and skills specific to their industry to achieve the most benefit.PATHWAYS TO DATA SKILLSFortunately, the need for data skills is being recognised and work to meet it is well underway. Events like Bradford Connect sh...