Data Analytics - Wassat? Say UK Grads

If you don’t have any statistical analysis and data mining skills, and you’re looking to get hired in the UK, then you’re doing it wrong.

And according to new research from Tableau Software, 60 per cent of UK graduates are, in fact, doing it wrong. Forty per cent believe data analytics skills are essential for their future job, and 30 per cent consider them ‘critical’.

Tableau Software has called upon a recent LinkedIn study that ranked statistical analysis and data mining as the number one skill to get you hired on the Island. It also says that more than 75 per cent of companies are planning on investing in big data through 2017.

“What is startling from the research is the clear disparity between the need for data analysis skills and the awareness about its importance,” said James Eiloart, VP EMEA at Tableau. “Students must realise what is clearly apparent to employers: our technology-driven world means that the jobs graduates seek in just a few years’ time will be fundamentally different to those they are now training for.”

Out of 1,000 polled graduates, 19 per cent think data analytics are “just for tech geeks”. Others have heard of the role and understand that it’s no longer confined to the IT sector.

“Today’s workplace is one where data analytics skills are no longer a nice to have, but a must.  The sheer amount of data available today means that the ability to quickly draw valuable insights is absolutely critical for business success,” said Paul Chapman, Business Intelligence CoE Manager at easyJet and Tableau user. “It is certainly a skill that will present a key advantage to recent graduates over their peers.”

Author: Sead Fadilpašic
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