“SAS Institute’s data scientist program gave and reinforced the knowledge we lacked to conduct the necessary changes in order to become the analytical organization we want to be” Elis Rosén, Head of Analytics at Hi3G.

Getting the impact of analytics, big data and digitalization is not only about adopting new technologies. To get value, adjustments of all abilities must be made, and that includes those already familiar with analytics. But why it is highly critical to start recruiting, attracting, developing and retaining valuable talent and resources to handle big data, i.e. data scientists, as fast as possible?

Environments for Big Data Analytics are different from a traditional data environment in many ways. The human hand is crucial to the end result of big data analytics, and the importance of knowledge profiles for Data Scientists is clear. The combination of computer science, statistics, communications and business understanding makes Data Scientists’ ideal profiles broad and complex.

Rita Sallam, VP of Research at Gartner, has stated “Through 2017, the number of citizen data scientists will grow five times faster than the number of highly skilled data scientists.” It’s no secret that we have a skills gap in the data world, and as the expectations of business users grow, that shortage is only going to get worse. That’s why the new role of the citizen data scientist, or citizen data analyst, will become a critical role within companies”.

The biggest challenge in sourcing the deeper Data Scientist skills is that very few candidates hold all these skills to an advanced level. Recruitment, trainings and career plans are challenging endeavors that will only intensify over the coming years. The most successful organizations in a data-driven world today are the ones that create, identify and develop their unique talents.

SAS Data Discovery Scientist program grew out of request from companies who approached us with this need.

To manage this challenge, the SAS Data Discovery Scientist program was established. It is accompanied by a detailed learning & development plan that extends high priority skills and introduces secondary priority skills. Based on the team’s higher intent, the subset of most- needed skills is prioritized, with the goal to deliver the positively contributing outcome of a specialized data scientist that supports their team. This also helps managers with designing their teams the right way, structuring them to maximize the differences in skillsets between teams while at the same time minimizing the difference between each team’s individual members.

Through a partnership with Bravura, the SAS Data Discovery Scientist program covers the full chain of Talent Management (find, recruit, train, develop, retain) for a Data Scientist and a Citizen Data Scientist professional.

“SAS Institute’s program for training data analysts is unique. There is no other program that combines analytical and business knowledge in this way,” says Mattias Andersson, Head of CRM Analytics at Scandinavian Airlines.

Hi3G and Scandinavian are two early adopters of a strategic talent acquisition approach that is in line with current business and human resource needs. Analytics proactively add value to the organizations if the right tools and knowledge are adopted by educated and competent teams. They have today the skills to support and to drive the change necessary for reaching the organization’s goals.

Read more about the partnership between Bravura and SAS Institute