The ability to understand and interpret data is an essential feature of life in 2021, integral to the economy, society and for each of us as individuals.

However, with unemployment rising by 1.5% due to the events of the last year and the UK’s data economy reportedly only reaching 58% of its true potential, reskilling and reemployment in this area still represent a major untapped opportunity as part of our recovery from the pandemic.

Our own recent survey of enterprise decision makers, commissioned together with Vanson Bourne, found that 71% of employers now say data literacy is very important or essential to new hires, with 92% believing that remote working and increased reliance on technology has amplified the need for these skills at least to some extent.

But what can be done about this? Here I outline three core aims that should be at the heart of our collective effort to address the data literacy gap.

1. Create a ‘data culture’

In an increasingly digital world, data skills are vital to nurturing democracy and helping citizens remain well-informed.

In modern society, a sufficient level of fluency with data equips citizens with the skills to understand and contextualise information and thus become less vulnerable to propaganda, conspiracy theories and fake news.

Reasoning with numbers also empowers people to quantify social injustice and catalyse change, such as helping expose the causes of disease or deforestation patterns. Data skills even help protect fundamental civil liberties by empowering citizens to safeguard data privacy.

In recent years, digital transformation efforts have often failed because corporate cultures are not moulded around sharing data or encouraging data-driven thinking.

Now, a number of Fortune 500 companies have begun to change course, creating a data-friendly corporate culture based on breaking down departmental ‘data silos’.

At the most sophisticated end of the spectrum, some now even analyse CVs for evidence of ‘data-literacy’ such as statistical skills and problem-solving expertise to ensure every department understands data science.

2. Prioritise education

However, truly embracing the need for data literacy across society will also require an overhaul of the priority the educational system places on data. It is imperative that school-leavers and graduates are equipped with core data skills such as data analysis, data literacy and some aspects of data science.

The only way to achieve this is to encourage and empower young people to foster an interest in IT-related subjects as early on as possible.

A concerning survey conducted by The Learning & Work Institute and WorldSkills UK warned that the UK's current shortfall in digital skills will only continue to worsen unless schools drive greater adoption of IT courses at GCSE level.

It’s our view that data literacy should be treated as an essential skill and a metric for educational progress on a par with literacy itself. In fact, the UK Government recently announced support for degree courses in AI and data science technologies and funding for post-graduate conversion courses in both fields.

3. Provide adequate training

To foster a work culture built around data, companies should urgently implement steps including opening their internal data to other departments.

They should encourage employees to explain the levels of uncertainty behind their decisions, create robust proof-of-concepts and develop consistent metrics for predicting and measuring business success.

Employers should assist these efforts by offering training courses to share their skills with jobseekers and partnering with universities to train graduates in the requisite skills. Major recruiters could help by offering jobs to all those who complete data courses.

For example, we recently announced the SAS STEP Programme, a partnership with universities and other institutions to retrain and reemploy 10,000 people across the UK & Ireland as data professionals.

The free digital learning programme will provide four learning pathways from data literacy to more advanced data science and AI skills, to reinvigorate the nation’s workforce with in-demand data skills.

Candidates will be able to choose from a wide range of resources including coding challenges, guided case studies, dedicated mentors, and live web classes, allowing them to quickly increase their attractiveness to prospective employers.

They will also get hands-on training through a tailored software portal, allowing users to practice, apply and embed increasingly vital data and analytical skills.

Taking these steps will be vital in the coming months and years if we are to maximise the potential of our data economy, create a more informed citizenry and boost skills, employment, research, and innovation. The key is for industry, academia and government to work together to create a truly ‘data-literate’ population.

Roderick Crawford is Vice President & Country Manager at SAS UK & Ireland