Future Skills

CHAPTER 2DATA LITERACY

We're living through the fourth industrial revolution (or “Industry 4.0,” as it's sometimes known), a revolution that's defined by wave upon wave of new technologies that combine the physical and digital worlds. You've no doubt noticed the plethora of “smart” everyday devices, everything from watches to fridges, that are now connected to the internet. That's the fourth industrial revolution in action. And it's all underpinned by data. Data is the fuel that powers this new age of constant technological breakthrough.

As a result, data is now a prized business asset, and organizations of all kinds will want to employ data-literate individuals who can help them extract value from data. And this means everyone must understand the basics of how to use data. In fact, I'd go so far as to say data literacy is one of the most important future skills in this book—data literacy is to the 21st century what literacy was in the past century.

What Is Data Literacy?

Data literacy means a basic ability to understand and use data. That's it in a nutshell. So, in an average business context, this will generally mean being able to:

• Access appropriate data—by which I mean having access to the data needed to do your job and make informed decisions.
• Work with data—which may include creating data, gathering data, managing data to ensure it stays up to date, and of course, keeping data safe.
• Find meaning in the numbers—including understanding what the data is and what it represents, ...