Published on the 01/04/2022 | Written by Heather Wright

When did you last provide Excel training?…

Kiwi and Australian employees are clamouring for data literacy skills, with just 12 percent feeling confident in their current data literacy skills. 

That’s according to a report from Qlik, with the results born out by a local training organisation.

Data Literacy: The Upskilling Evolution, says 61 percent of A/NZ employee respondents believe data literacy will help keep them relevant in their role with the onset of AI. Just over one-in-five employees across Australia and New Zealand believe their employer is preparing them for a more data-oriented and automated workplace. 

“Microcredentials provide a great opportunity for collaboration to solve short- and longer-term digital capability gaps.”

Leigh Richardson, northern sales manager for Auldhouse, New Zealand’s largest digital skills training provider, says the past two years have seen a strong uptick in training for most of the company’s clients, with Power BI and data analysis among the most in-demand.

“That first year of lockdown in 2020 was quite challenging, and then as we moved through that first year, employers were looking at ways to upskill their staff.”

With staff at home, companies were keen for more analysis on the business, and for staff to upskill virtually. 

Excel training is also running hot – tying back into the demand for data demands, with advanced Excel skills required to use PowerBI. 

And it’s a trend Richardson says is also being seen in Australia – home to DDLS which acquired Auldhouse last year in an AU$16.6 million deal.

“We’re in the Sydney office this week and in terms of the business and what customers are asking for [in each country] it’s very, very alike.”
Qlik’s research says business leaders and employees alike predict that data literacy – defined as the ability to read, work with, analyse and communicate with data – will be the most in-demand skill by 2030. In fact, 88 percent of local executives believe it will become as vital in the future as the ability to use a computer is today. 

“A/NZ employees surveyed report their use of data and its importance in decision-making has doubled over the past year,” Qlik says. Meanwhile 87 percent of executives now expect all team members to be able to explain how data has informed their decisions. 

A key driver according to Qlik is the rise of artificial intelligence, with local enterprise leaders saying employee working practices will change to become more collaborative with intelligent tools helping them make better decisions (86 percent) and become more productive (also 86 percent).

For employees, the Qlik survey claims data literacy skills can add NZ$14,000 to their annual salary. For employers, as well as the most obvious benefit of improved productivity and efficiency – as Richardson says “If you don’t have confident people doing the work you need them to do, you’re in a whole lot of trouble – there’s that aspect of employee satisfaction. As reported by iStart last week, recent AlphaBeta research for AWS shows Australian and Kiwi companies investing in digital skills training were seeing higher employee retention and satisfaction, alongside increased revenue and productivity. That’s reinforced by the Qlik report which notes 37 percent of A/NZ employees have changed their job in the last 12 months because their employer wasn’t offering enough upskilling and training opportunities. 

It’s not just data skills we’re needing to bridge the gaps. The AlphaBeta research found 81 percent of Australian workers and 80 percent of Kiwi workers say they need more digital skills in general to cope with changes in their jobs. 

Topping the list are cloud and cybersecurity skills.

Richardson agrees, with demand for cloud training, be it Microsoft, AWS or Google, running high for Auldhouse. The company is also running an introduction to cloud program as well, giving a ground level overview of cloud concepts. 

She says they’re also seeing a lot more demand for ‘digital essentials’ type training. 

With an estimated one million more people in New Zealand and 3.7 million in Australia requiring digital skills training over the next year, the race is on.

Auldhouse, in partnership with Microsoft and Tuputoa, is offering courses to ensure Maori and Pasifika gain essential digital skills. Tuputoa works to connect Maori and Pasifika with companies where they can start their career. The training provides the basic digital skills to enable trainees to work with organisations from government departments to large multinationals, who Richardson says have been keen to partner on the project.

That’s tackling the entry market, but for those already in work there are barriers to training, key among them a lack of time, along with limited awareness of training options and the digital skills needed, according to the AlphaBeta research. 

In Australia the government has released its National Microcredentials Framework to provide a nationally consistent framework for defining microcredentials, seen by many as a crucial step in plugging skills gaps.

Tania McGowan, general manager of programs at Wellington Uni Professional, a subsidiary of Victoria University of Wellington set up to focus on offering short courses, customised programs and microcredentials for professional learners, says her organisation is building partnerships with industry to build the digital skills needed in the existing workforce. 

It has worked with the Department of Internal Affairs to develop an introduction to digital accessibility microcredential. The microcredential was developed in response to a specific issue the DIA was having. With services increasingly offered in the digital environment, they needed those services to be accessible to all New Zealanders.

Partnerships have also been harnessed to develop cybersecurity microcredentials to introduce participants to cybersecurity as a potential career path, but also as an intro to cybersecurity for professional learning as well.

“Microcredentials do provide a great opportunity for collaboration between education partners, industry and organisations to solve short- and longer-term digital capability gaps,” McGowan says. 

“It’s well understood that gone are the days when students came to university and did their three-year degree and then embarked on their career in industry for the next 40 years. 

“Lifelong learning now accepted as answer to rapidly changing knowledge and skills needed by our workplace.”

And on that note: An executive development program is due to launch in May looking at digital transformation for the public sector. A partnership with AWS Institute, it’s designed to provide public servants and elected officials the confidence to lead transformation in the public sector, with topics including digital mindset, cybersecurity, data sovereignty, trust and citizen-centric design.