The data rich sector: Finance
Financial services and banking are perhaps the most data-rich sector of the working world. Financial companies collect vast amounts of customer data in order to better understand their clients and make informed business decisions. This data can include information on transactions, customer demographics, and financial history. However, simply collecting this data is not enough; to effectively use it, the entire company must be data literate. Data literacy is about more than having a highly skilled and developed data team. It’s about ensuring a standardised level of digital and data knowledge across your organisation. Empowering your people with data literacy serves your business goals and their careers.
Research published by Tableau forecasts that 79% of employees will likely use data heavily by 2025. This figure was just 40% in 2018, and data literacy must be a priority for finance businesses looking to succeed and grow. The Data Literacy Project highlight there is some way to go in finance for data literacy to be achieved, with only 6% of financial services leaders currently offering data literacy training or upskilling experiences for all staff. For a data-driven future, organisations must consider the skill sets of all their people and how they can improve them. Targeted digital and data apprenticeships, accessible via your apprenticeship levy funding, are a powerful way of giving your people access to the level of training they need to achieve your data literacy goals.
Why does data literacy matter so much?
We’ve explored just how important data literacy is for organisations looking to grow and succeed. Data literacy should be a priority for your organisation because of its many benefits and how crucial it is in your company’s approach to the future.
Most organisations have a data team, but this department cannot truly make the most of its skills and potential when they have to deal with day-to-day and routine data management and analysis. In a data-driven organisation, you empower all of your employees with data skills and knowledge, with specialist data champions or experts in all departments to ensure you can handle data effectively across the company. This also frees up your data specialists for more advanced projects and maximises the true value of your company’s data.
If the teams within your organisation do not have data literacy or skills, data can become disorganised and vital information may fall through the cracks. Your data teams will then need to spend additional time cleaning up data, and processes will take longer than they need to. Data literacy makes your company’s data available but, more importantly, ensures your people are confident and competent in using it.
Research by DataIQ shows that just 14% of those employed in the financial sector have confidence in their ability to read, analyse, work and communicate with data. This can lead to data teams within the business spending disproportionate amounts of time on data cleanup rather than strategising and putting their advanced skills to the best use.
Accessing high-quality data training is something you can build into your general training and development programme. Accessing training using your apprenticeship levy funding allows you to build the data-driven future your financial organisation needs without impacting your budget.
How to utilise apprenticeship levy funding for digital literacy
The Apprenticeship Levy exists to support companies in ensuring their people are highly trained and can access high-quality apprenticeship training opportunities from trusted partners.
Despite the benefits that come with levy funding, research shows organisations are not necessarily reaping the rewards. Grant Thornton asserts that 45% of companies are not utilising their levy funding and that government data found £3bn in apprenticeship levy funding in England was not used.
With a strategic approach to training and maximising the value of levy funding, corporate organisations can upskill and reskill their employees in the most in-demand skill sets, including digital and data skills. Using their levy fund, organisations can partner with quality training providers to create a standardised knowledge base in digital literacy for the entire organisation. Companies can build confident teams who can effectively manage data in a self-serve function in order to implement a data-driven strategy company-wide.
Leveraging digital and data apprenticeships for a data-driven future
Corndel specialises in levy-funded apprenticeship programmes for organisations committed to equipping their top talent with the skills necessary for the modern workplace. Our data programmes have been designed with the genuine needs of modern business environments and to suit learners from different backgrounds. Our programmes suit people at different stages in their careers and allow you to access the most appropriate level of training for your employees.
The Imperial College and Corndel Data-Driven Professional Programme
Our Data-Driven Professional Programme is a level 3 apprenticeship accredited by A4digital Academy. The programme gives people a broader and more in-depth knowledge of organisational data, how to manage it and how to use it effectively for decision-making and improving business activity and outcomes.
The Imperial College and Corndel Data Analyst Programme
Our Data Analyst programme is a level 4 apprenticeship accredited by A4digital Academy. The programme builds a strong and reliable network of data and database specialists within your organisation, allowing you to ensure competent and effective data use and analysis in all departments across your organisation. In finance, almost all employees are confronted with valuable data every day, and our Data Analyst programme upskills and empowers them to use it effectively.
The Corndel Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprenticeship
Companies can empower and upskill the rising stars and top talent in their organisation with our degree apprenticeship programme. The Corndel Digital & Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprenticeship leads to a BSc. (Hons) Digital and Technology Solutions qualification and explores and examines business data to a high standard. Learners can expand and build their technical and data knowledge to advance their careers and also lead data-driven change within your organisation.
The quality of our programmes rests on the quality of our people. Corndel specialises in blended learning programmes, and the one-to-one interaction between learner and coach is integral to our model and success. Every learner is different, and every learner gets a unique personalised learning experience, ensuring their skills develop in line with your business needs.
Discover more about how apprenticeship levy-funded training can assist in developing the data-literate foundation your organisation needs.
