Having skills in business analytics relates to understanding data, business drivers and the capability of connecting these data to actionable insights for implementation of the business. These days, the market trend is drifting away from a "one size fits all" to more custom trials by providing customized solutions. A business analyst covers a gamut understanding of such trials and business problems. They are able to formulate hypothesis to prove or disprove solutions by extracting data from complex data sets. Furthermore, business analysts analyze and visualize the outcomes for making non-analysts to understand the bold results. I would definitely say that analytics is the key for such industrial journeys.
"Business analytics industry is growing very fast and the demands for skilled employees are cutting across industries"
However, a problem lies with our educational structure as many colleges do not impart students with proper skills for success in job from day one. Since the analytics industry is in nascent stage, this problem is accentuated in this industry. The fault hides in our extreme theoretical education structure. Young engineers and statistics graduates come with the right orientation, but their knowledge of business limits them and make it difficult for the graduates to be job ready soon as college gets over.
Approaches of Starting a Career and Abating the not Job ready Situation:
1. Being a responsible organization, we provide internships to recent graduates, which give a young fellow the broader view on the industry.
2. We deliver on job training and internal training for building up the necessary skills and this has yield success.
3. Few specialist courses are available in the market. Such courses are only beneficial if there is a close industry and academia interaction.
4. A two way street is always advantageous. So, the industry should also take part in drafting curriculum syllabus.
I believe students should be encouraged to engage with the world around them from a very young age. This would give them a better understanding of their subject. At times our students should also look beyond the syllabus and books and gain knowledge from free online training videos. Henceforth, they could apply for internships for practical experiences, interact with more practical real world and bolster their communication skills and confidence. In addition it will give the industry a chance to choose those who have a natural inclination for the job they are doing.
Business Analytics Industry and Its Rapid Growth
Business analytics industry is growing very fast and the demands for skilled employees are cutting across industries. In a world, where data is the new oil, the amount of data being collected from various parts of the world is never ending. It is natural that skills of a business analyst are in demand like a hot chocolate cake. Human intellects are always in demand no matter how intelligent machines become. It is the human connects which enables the industry to decipher and approve what machines are doing. While automation is replacing lower end analytics, the value of an analyst who is working in areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning is becoming invincible. As businesses are focusing on more data for most efficient and effective outcomes, the role of a business analyst is proving to be invaluable. The needs of skills of a business analyst at present are important as ink for writing. Market demand of a business analyst skill set is just going to skyrocket.
Analytics is applicable in various industries. The business analytics students need to understand where their interest inclines, on which industry. Is it the banking, finance or insurance what attracts them? Or the pharmaceutical and retail what fascinates them. Students need to realize which techniques and areas they would specialize for excelling in a business analytics career.
It is imperative for students to understand the statistical applications before applying for job in business analytics. They need to be well versed with economic terms. In today's market, if their knowledge circumvents topics such as the Indian financial space and contribution of different sectors-banks, NBFCs or Fintechs, the generic functions within a bank and few business problems that entities face should help them kick-start their careers and also help the organization select better analyst.
If students' starts applying their reading, learning and exploring in critical thinking and problem solving; progress is inevitable. They should be more open to self-learning and executing and start taking advantage of free sources of learning as analytics is not only about process and methodologies, it also involves innovation.
Nimilita Chatterjee
After completing BSc in Physics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, Nimilita Chatterjee held senior position in retail banking. Prior to joining Equifax, she has worked in various multinational banks such as Standard Chartered and Barclays in India. Nilmita was a part of the Indian setup team of Equifax India Credit Bureau and was the Head of Products for 5 years. Currently, she is responsible for providing solutions, delivering of analytical products for the credit bureau and the customs development. She manages a team of 100+ analysts at specialized Analytics Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, which works on critical projects for US business and customers' service in Canada, Europe and the Middle East.
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