Gulf business leaders fear increased competition as data training programmes stall

Dubai - Alteryx research shows over half of senior Gulf leaders face an ever-growing challenge to deliver on core data projects

US-based Alteryx has highlighted a core discrepancy between the accelerated pace of digital transformation and the provision of the foundational skills needed to deliver it.

Despite workers’ confidence in providing business value through their data skills, the research calls future digital competitiveness into question due to stalled digital upskilling in recent months.

In a survey of 300 plus data workers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Alteryx discovered that 57 per cent of senior business leaders believe their organisation is ‘falling behind’ compared to their competition. 56 per cent of these executives also confirm they are ‘overwhelmed’ by what they need to learn to refine data into business-changing insights.

Almost half (40 per cent) of these business leaders recognise that driving upskilling initiatives is the responsibility of ‘top management’, but the research shows that day-to-day challenges continue to take priority over critically important data training. 45 per cent of data workers are unable to upskill at as they continue to be pulled into day-to-day tasks, while one in four (24 per cent) do not know where to start.

Leadership and data workers: priorities at loggerheads

40 per cent of Gulf C-Suites, VPs and business unit leaders responsible for driving upskilling strategies see little difference between the skills needed today and those needed in five years’ time. Despite this lack of forward-thinking from business leadership, 86 per cent of data workers see a clear benefit to enhancing the value they can deliver through data. Interestingly, 28 per cent have already begun this upskilling journey, and 18 per cent say they have already completed it.

“The fields of data analytics and digital transformation continue to challenge companies to break the mould and deliver new and constantly evolving ways to upskill and deliver ROI,” said Alan Jacobson, chief data and analytics officer at Alteryx.

“A core feature of digital transformation that is often underconsidered is the human factor, and the development of the foundational skills required to make such projects a success. With data workers entering employment at any and all skill levels across the analytic continuum, leadership must commit with conviction to evolve beyond any antiquated approach to data literacy and analytics utilisation and drive a cultural shift to delivery within their organisation that starts with employees. Only by making long-term commitments to prioritise - and investments to incentivise – good quality data work will the workforce be empowered to deliver more efficient outcomes and ensure competitiveness going forward.”

For Gulf business leaders, understanding and fully utilising digital skills is essential for success. Enabling these workers to use their skills for business benefit will also significantly drive competitiveness. 51 per cent of data workers admitted they see a significant strong correlation between upskilling and salary increases from improved data skills, with 10 per cent expecting a 71-100 per cent salary increase and 57 per cent expecting a salary increase of at least 21 per cent from upskilling. With this high expectation of a salary increase, it comes as no surprise that 64 per cent of Gulf data workers are motivated to upskill themselves outside of business-led training.

“The skills disconnect has the potential to seriously hinder the Gulf’s competitiveness on a global scale Kerry Koutsikos, VP, MEA, at Alteryx adds. “As our business environment becomes increasingly digital, data literacy is the skill that will pay off both in the short and long-term – moving businesses away from time-consuming manual tasks and towards automated insight generation for faster time-to-insight and accelerated decision-making. — business@khaleejtimes.com