Data is the fuel for the global economy of tomorrow. Organizations across every industry sector – from farming to manufacturing to commercial space exploration – will need to acquire, processing, and drawing insights from massive amounts of data, enabling them to find actionable insights faster and with more confidence.
Technology is advancing. Data is being generated and curated rapidly. One significant hurdle stands in the way of this future economy; a massive talent gap of data-savvy workers.
Addressing the talent gap
Recently in Washington, DC, I had the opportunity to meet with several members of Congress and senior officials in the Executive Branch on artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, privacy, and other technology initiatives. A recurring theme was the necessity for effective training and re-skilling of a workforce adept in the fundamentals of data and technology.
I met with congresswoman was Young Kim (R-CA), who is joining Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and others to advance a key part of the solution to this challenge: H.R. 1050, the Data Science and Literacy Act.
I am proud to announce that Alteryx is endorsing this legislation and joining these members of Congress to promote data skills at all education levels.
The Data Science and Literacy Act
The Data Science and Literacy Act (H.R. 1050) would authorize the Department of Education to award grants to educational institutions and other entities to expand data science, data literacy, and statistics education. This extends from pre-K programs through graduate school, and also includes lifelong learners pursuing professional development and upskilling, the act would enable dynamic collaborations between industry and academia to deliver content at the right place, in the right way, and critically to the right people.
H.R. 1050 is built on an essential insight: the talent gap will not be closed simply by training more graduate-level data scientists. The future economy will demand data literacy broadly across company functions. The availability of no-code and low-code analytics automation platforms means everyone – from accounting students to marketing majors – can and should learn modern analytics problem-solving so they can operate effectively in a data-driven environment. H.1050’s support for data literacy education will help make that possible.
Data is everywhere today, and it will be the foundation of our economy tomorrow. The Data Science and Literacy Act will provide America’s talented workers across industry sectors with the data skills and savvy they need to lead their industries into the future.