The UK faces a chronic data skills shortage, costing £57.2 billion annually. Recruiters are struggling to hire data staff, according to new data from Multiverse Skills.
It found that workers, on average, spend 14.3 hours each week on data tasks including data entry, analysis and report generation, taking them away from high-value tasks.
The Multiverse Skills Intelligence report revealed that workers feel they waste an average of 4.3 hours per week on data tasks. This accounts for 10% of their total working time.
The report also found that staff are relying on Excel for the majority of their data tasks, with many lacking understanding or avoiding tools such as Python.
With the severe lack of data skills across the UK workforce costing the country £57.2 billion per year, nearly nine-in-ten business leaders believe their organisation has significant skills gaps, and half of employees said they lack the necessary skills, it is evident that a much greater focus is needing on developing high skilled opportunities for future generations in the technology industry.”
Businesses are aware of the data gap facing their organisation, with almost nine in ten business leaders reported that their organisation is facing a significant skills gap.
Derek Mackenzie, CEO of Investigo said: “In challenging economic times, building a national talent pipeline of candidates equipped with the latest digital skills is crucial to boosting the jobs market and driving growth. Companies need tech talent in order to thrive, and currently, many businesses are struggling to recruit and train candidates in core areas such as data analysis, automation and predictive modelling.“
