What’s in this podcast?

In this episode Jason discusses why data literacy should be viewed as something that is acquired and progresses over time, rather than an absolute. Listen to this episode on Spotify, iTunes, and Stitcher. You can also catch up on the previous episodes of the Hub & Spoken podcast when you subscribe. What are your thoughts on this topic? We’d love to hear from you; join the #HubandSpoken discussion and let us know on Twitter and LinkedIn. For more on data, take a look at the webinars and events that we have lined up for you.

One big message

There is a common misconception that someone is either data literate or not. However, like any other skill it is something that you can acquire and get better at over time. [00:10] Jason’s personal experience [01:15] Looking at data literacy as a scale [03:40] How business skills translate to data skills [04:47] Why data literacy is becoming an essential business skill

Looking at data literacy as a sliding scale

Data literacy refers to the ability to read, write, and interpret data. It also includes the ability to use data to solve problems. Data literacy is a critical skill in our increasingly digital world. Fortunately, data literacy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It exists on a continuum, with different people having different levels of knowledge and skills. With traditional literacy people learn and acquire new skills over time, and the same is true for data.

Why basic data skills are becoming essential business skills

There are many transferable skills from business to data which put people in good stead to acquire data literacy. But there is also a growing consensus that data literacy itself should be a part of necessary business skills. With the increasing amount of data being generated every day, businesses and employees at almost all levels need to be able to make sense of it all and use it to their advantage. Data skills allow businesses to identify trends, optimise processes, and make better decisions even in day-to-day operations. This does not mean that everyone has to know everything about data: coding and programming are not necessary for carrying out tasks such as marketing and sales. However, as businesses become more data-driven, other data-related skills such as interpretation and analysis are becoming relevant for everyone. Businesses need employees who are not only good at working with data, but also good at using it to improve the business. Luckily, there are a number of resources available to help people develop these skills. There are online courses, books, and even software programs that can help people learn how to work with data.

Conclusion

Data literacy has become important, for almost everyone. Companies need more people with the ability to interpret data, to draw insights, and to ask the right questions in the first place. While not everyone needs to know everything about data to be ‘data literate,’ having a solid understanding of the foundations and learning more as needed is important for future-proofing skills.