Why is being data literate important and how to become one?

With almost everything revolving around data, the need for one to be data literate is on rising. Someone who is data literate can read, work with, analyze and communicate with data. The magical world of data has managed to grab eyeballs from everywhere across and thus the demand for data literate comes as no big a surprise. In today's world, data literacy has turned out to be one of the most sought-after skills in those who are willing to carve a niche for themselves in the field of data.

Being data literate becomes all the more prominent as far as industries like that of retail, manufacturing and financial services, etc. are concerned. Gone are the days when only those employees within data analytics and business intelligence teams were required to be data literate. Today, everyone right from finance, marketing to HR needs to develop a wider understanding of data. It is high time now that we embed data skills into education during the early stages itself. Doing so will not only put the next generation in a strong position to exploit the potential of digital transformation but also open up doors for digital natives.

The pandemic has hit every possible area that one can think of. in the midst of all this, a lot of the students feel that they have missed out on developing data analysis and communication skills. What is worth paying attention to is the fact that the school time lost as a result of the pandemic regulations could harm the economies across the globe.

What needs to be paid utmost importance to is how we can explore the data skills gap in the education system. One of the best ways to address this is by focusing on preparing pupils, at all levels. It is time that we pay greater attention to the skills that are becoming increasingly important for employers, such as data analysis.

Also, it is quite common to find students scared by the very thought of data literacy. Eliminating this fear is where we need to work on, at the earliest. With the lack of data-driven skills holding the potential to hamper the economy significantly, steps must be taken to ensure that adequate knowledge and good quality education in the same is easily accessible. Let's not wake up to the day when we are struggling to demonstrate our data literacy skills.

As we see things around us slowly bouncing back to normal, we need to take extra efforts in providing the students with the digital skills they need for the workplace. Preparing them well in advance would not only make it easier in the long run but would also make them skilled enough to be able to fetch the desired results for the organization. Expecting a major overhaul of the curriculum overnight isn't justified, but putting in every effort possible to learning opportunities as schools, colleges and universities should be good enough to get started. Additionally, there are tons of courses available out there (both online as well as offline) via which one can learn the foundational data skills they need for the ever-evolving digital needs of employers.

Talking about how can organizations do their bit in this particular aspect, they can help in achieving data literacy by providing the workforce with the tools necessary to see and understand data better.