Cloudera collaborates to bridge data analyst gap

Cloudera is working with industry partners to help close the data skills gap, with the company recently announcing a collaboration with Generation Australia that will support data analysts of tomorrow.

Despite a significant global talent shortage within the technology sector, data analyst roles are one of its fastest growing professions. Today, businesses are struggling to find people with the specialist data skills needed to understand, manage and deliver insights from the billions of data gigabytes being produced around the clock.

Closer to home, the current lack of skilled workers in Australia is halting advancements in business transformation and growth. As highlighted in the Australian Information Industry Association’s 2022 annual survey, three-quarters of companies (75%) are expecting revenue to increase by at least 5%, but are concerned skills shortages will stop progress.

Overall, the majority (75%) of respondents said they are actively recruiting staff and are looking outside of Australia to fill the gaps. In fact, the industry reported a 20% decline in acquiring talent locally (65% in 2022 compared to 85% in 2021).

To share important insights into the power of data and open up dynamic discussions around the need for skills, Cloudera recently hosted Evolve 2022, a one-day event in Sydney. With speaker and peer-to-peer sessions as well as networking opportunities, the event brought together industry innovators, analytics experts and data specialists to give attendants direct access to thought leaders defining the data industry today.

“We know that the demand for data analysts will only continue to increase as businesses capture more data and look for ways to maximise value and get insight from it,” said Renee Dvir, A/NZ Solutions Engineering Manager at Cloudera.

“At Cloudera we are focused on making it fast and easy to become data driven from a technological perspective and our work with Generation Australia helps to create a larger and more diverse talent pool to help businesses achieve this.

“Diversifying and increasing the pipeline of talent by offering programs for Australians of all stages of their career can help to improve not only individual businesses but our economy and workforce as a whole.”

Jessica Dharmasiri (Head of Strategy & Projects at Generation Australia), guest speaker at Cloudera Evolve, is actively involved in working to diversify and grow a data talent pipeline in Australia.

Earlier this year, Generation Australia, Microsoft and Cloudera co-designed an accelerated data analyst training program to address the skill shortage for entry-level talent in this field.

“The amount of data produced in the next three years has been predicted to exceed that of the last three decades, and so there will remain a high demand for this skillset,” Dharmasiri said.

“Generation Australia is excited to work with forward-thinking employers that recognise the immense power of data to provide valuable business insights.”

Graduates on the new course will complete their studies on 23 December 2022 and entities with roles open that require diverse and motivated talent trained in both technical and soft skills are encouraged to get in touch with Generation Australia.

Image: Renee Dvir with panel speakers Jessica Dharmasiri (Generation Australia) and Adriano Pestana (Commonwealth Bank) at Cloudera Evolve.