• 94% find themselvesusing data to make business decisions more so as compared to a year ago
• However, 93% believetheir workforce is not achieving optimal productivity due to a lack in data skills
• Data Analysis, DataInterpretation for Decision Making in Business, and Data Protection and RiskManagement were the top data-related skills necessary but lacking in theirworkforce

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 1 July2020 - As Singaporeprogressively reopens its economy, majority of companies in Singapore havevoiced that the data literacy of their workforce is more important now thanbefore the COVID-19 outbreak. However, a data skills gap is hindering theproductivity of 93% of employers in Singapore. These insights were revealed in therecently launched NTUC LearningHubData Skills report, which features insights from industry leaders such asglobal tech giant IBM, Japanese tech conglomerate Softbank and leadinganalytics software company Qlik.

The report, entitled 'AView From the Ground: Closing the Data Skills Gap in the Covid-19 Era andBeyond' uncovers both employers' and employees' views on the degree of relianceon data and business intelligence in Singapore's business landscape, thegeneral perception about the data-related competencies of the nation'sworkforce, hiring trends and preferences of businesses here, and recommendationsfor closing skills gaps in order for businesses and workers to remaincompetitive.

A prevalent skills gapwas uncovered as employers identified the data-related skills which were necessarybut lacking in their workforce. Employers voted Data Analysis (voted by 67%), DataInterpretation for Decision Making in Business (voted by 50%), and DataProtection and Risk Management (voted by 49%) as the most necessary data skillsfor their businesses. At the same time, these skills were perceived as lackingwithin their companies as voted by 47%, 37% and 32% of employers respectively.

Almost all (94%) ofemployers surveyed said they have increased their reliance on data and businessintelligence to make business decisions now as compared to a year ago. Industryclusters such as Professional Services, Trade & Connectivity, and Lifestyletop the list when it comes to experiencing increasing use of data in theworkplace to drive business decisions with over 90% of business leaders inthese categories saying so, as compared to those in Manufacturing (88%) andBuild Environment (69%).

"As companies arethrusted into transformation during this Covid era, employers have activelyreassessed the workforce they need in order to navigate the new economy. TheCOVID-19 storm is far from over and all business leaders must work out theirstrategies in weathering this very turbulent and uncertain period ahead. Inthis complex business environment, data will help us a lot in supporting ourintuition as we make difficult business decisions," says NTUC LearningHub CEOKwek Kok Kwong.

"To help allof us understand the importance of data and how it can support businesses, weembarked on this research. We hope that through this report, more businessleaders will understand how to plug the data skills gap and overcome thepossible inertia in encouraging more employees to embrace data. We also hopethat more workers will gain insight into the overall market demand for data andmotivate themselves to pick up these skills. In this decade, data will be keyto business success and data literacy will therefore be a core skill requiredin many future jobs. My tip for workers is to pick up these skills quickly andyou will be more competitive in the job market,"adds Mr Kwek.

Commenting on the findings, AndrewCampbell, Senior Partner, Asia Pacific, Talent and Transformation at IBM says,"I'm excited to participate in this study with NTUC Learning Hub! Thefindings in the paper are especially relevant in light of the current Covid-19crisis. The pandemic has highlighted the criticality of data forSingapore's people and business. While obtaining data can be solved in variousways through the use of technology, gaps still exist in the ability tointerpret and use data. Singapore's commitment to continuously up-skillingand increasing the data literacy of its workforce will be critical for continuedsuccess and to ensure that Singapore keeps its reputation as a regional andglobal business trailblazer."

"We at Qlik have been a long-timechampion of data literacy and believe this research is very timely at a timewhere more organisations are turning to data and analytics to build agility topivot to new norms during this pandemic," says Suganthi Shivkumar, ManagingDirector for ASEAN, India and Korea at Qlik. "The report shows the roadblocksahead for businesses in attaining a data literate workforce. From theemployer's side, providing tools, training and access to data is a criticalstep. Employees should ask more questions, interrogate the facts given,identify where they can use data then ask for that data. Together, this willcreate a more pervasive data-driven culture so everyone can confidently read,understand and work with data to attain more optimised business value andoutcomes. This organisation wide active intelligence can inspire more dataconfidence across all functions."

Eric Lim, Sales Director, SoftbankRobotics Asia Pacific adds, "It is a timely research study to understandfrom an employer's perspective on how one's job have since transformed anddata-skilled jobs have grown so much in importance across various industries andin the job market. With the COVID-19 situation, data analysis jobs will allowemployees to stay gainfully valuable to the company and to be able to performtheir work remotely with the data extraction. Both employers and employees arealso embracing a work transformation that data will accelerate both theachievement of company's goals and the performance of employees. It is definitethat data training courses are here to stay as a continual life-long upgradingintegral skill set."

To download the fullNTUC LearningHub's Data Skills Report 2020, visit:

www.ntuclearninghub.com/data-skills-2020/

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUCLearningHub was corporatised in 2004 with the vision of transforming thelifelong employability of working people. We work with both corporate andindividual clients to provide learning solutions in areas such as InfocommTechnology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence,Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign WorkerTraining.

Todate, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 21,000 organisations and achieved over2.5 million training places across more than 500 courses with a pool of over400 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider toorganisations, we also forge partnerships and provide a wide range of relevantend-to-end training solutions and work constantly to improve our trainingquality and delivery. 

For more information,visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.