Meeting Talent and Education Needs with Research
By Arundati Dandapani
Generation1.ca’s annual global industry skills study is live. This means that data and insights educators, professionals and all those following the top trends, technologies and shifts in this industry will benefit from a wealth of current insights on the evolving industry, and how to recession-proof careers and businesses. The insight generated from our study will be directional and also dynamic because of the ever-changing market forces and geopolitical factors influencing the velocity and volume of change across regions. Importantly, these results will help educators and education providers of data and insights hone their knowledge and skills. Being at the top of the knowledge curve helps various professionals equip themselves for industry certifications, and further, differentiate themselves in the labour market.
Education providers are mindful of these industry changes and incorporate key learnings in their curriculum in real-time within hybrid-learning environments across universities, colleges, polytechnics or other academies. The global waves below are still in-field and gathering data. Follow these blurbs, and please take the 5-minute skills survey applicable to your region: North America, Latin America, South Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, West Asia (Middle East excluding Africa), or Central Asia. There is an option to be recontacted for the qualitative portion of this study for each wave, should you wish to offer deeper insights on the state of skills in your region.
North America
Inclusive of the unique markets of Canada and USA, this region, driven by the operational hub of industry and tech-accelerated industry in the US, takes the global lead, with its lion share of annual global turnover. Powered by the opportunity in constant re-education in a globally $119 billion industry with highest rates of growth in the tech-enabled sector that is moderated by inflation in North America, the North American wave of the annual global industry skills survey (GISS) creates a handy resource for all levels of data, insights, and analytics educators and industry professionals in Canada and USA to advance in their careers in current and future roles, in their current or desired future organizations.
Latin America
The Latin American wave of the global industry skills study targets a comprehensive grouping of South America, Central America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean including Spanish America plus Portuguese America (Brazil). Latin America faces its share of economic challenges and inequities in access to training and opportunities which can limit the ability of candidates to acquire certain skills needed for success. While ESOMAR’s Global Market Research Report points to a “nuanced yet positive growth” for Latin America’s research industry in the past year, sources from the field reveal the uneasiness and despair looming in regions where post-pandemic inflation, unabated poverty, social and political turbulence and uncertainty, create a parallel anxiety despite the high-growth rates displayed in regions like Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, with others far behind. LATAM countries experiencing high GDP growth rates in recent years have also displayed openness to international trade and investment, opening new opportunities to professionals looking for work experience in multinational or global companies.
With the rise of digitization, how strong is the demand for professionals skilled in data science, analytics and digital technologies in LATAM markets? What does the future hold for our brothers and sisters in Latin America looking to maximize their curricula, training and skillsets to leverage high success? Help us out with your expert opinion on the top skills for success in Latin America’s data, analytics and insights industry today.
South Asia
The South Asian wave groups together India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar (more Southeast Asia), Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal. Researching face-to-face in South Asia has been more feasible and prevalent for local research projects and requires even an arduous level of nuance and familiarity with the macro and micro environments. Most of the revenue generating arms of the South Asian data, analytics and insights industry is export-driven, i.e. for international clients than domestic with unique attributes across sub-regions.
Navigating your business problems with typical research skills needed for success in the South Asian industry and marketplace is what this survey seeks responses to. The South Asian wave of this global study addresses the total addressable market in the region reflected in global research, despite an English language and an online audience skew – as with most of our waves.
Africa
We have included all of the African continent in a single wave for ease of geographic distribution. While the Middle East and Africa represented a sizeable 4% of the global insights industry’s annual turnover, according to the ESOMAR’s Global Market Research Report valued at US$ 4.2 million, inflation threw them back, as they displayed negative growth rates of -3.8%.
Africa has not been able to recover to pre-pandemic levels of growth with the exception of Egypt that did outpace its 2019 industrial output. Reporting drove revenues in the sector (over $160 million) in this region, shifting high value to business intelligence, advisory and consulting functions versus the traditional data gathering functions. The tech-enabled industry also showed several signs of promise even as all that growth was flattened out by inflation.
Data protection laws in Africa are broadly covered by the Convention of the African Union (AU) on Cybersecurity and Personal Data (2014) (Convention), accelerated by the growing need for countries to unite in the digitally-powered economies and protect from the risks that arise from tech-enabled investment and research.
How do we succeed in the data, analytics and insights business in Africa? What skills will see us future-proof our African nations’ talent?
Europe
Home to a diverse range of developing and developed markets, with wide ranging histories and geopolitics, Europe is among the top two regions that saw their annual insights turnover return to pre-pandemic levels according to ESOMAR’s Global Market Research Report with 60% of European nations showing absolute double-digit growth rates. Since 2022, countries in Europe are all expected to have exceeded pre-pandemic levels of growth and output with the exception of countries like Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine. The public’s expectations are that Ukrainians will soon see light at the end of a devastating war, and their vision drives a continued resilience.
As technology-enabled research continues to shape and drive a big part of the industry landscape and business dynamics in Europe, the EU Global Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) remains the overridin / default privacy regulation across Europe, even as non-EU regions like the UK fine tune their local and national regulations (UK GDPR, Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations PECR, and Data Protection Act DPA 2018). Artificial Intelligence (AI) is predicted to be fully operationalized (versus just being piloted) in three-quarters of all enterprises by the end of 2024, and AI-enabled data has been instrumental in tracking COVID-recovery measures. With this context, the EU’s approach to artificial intelligence promises to be centred on “excellence and trust” in maintaining safety and adherence to fundamental rights.
What implications do the business dynamics of Europe have for providers of insights training and education? If you are a Europe-based insights industry employer, please help your colleagues and educators by sharing your expert opinion on skills needed and labour market trends and opportunities.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia makes it to the top five markets by size in annual turnover for global market research according to ESOMAR’s report, and this region’s industry profitability will continue to be tested by economic forces facing similar Western democracies like inflation, recruiting challenges, and employee retention issues. If you are an Australia or New Zealand-based employer, please help educators and the industry understand the top skills for success in your region.
East Asia
East Asia is home to some of the top-performing high-growth double digit economies, and boasts of a heterogeneity that makes ESOMAR’s Global Market Research Report club some of these regions together under the Asia-Pacific region, to even out some of the disparities. We decided to club East Asian economies for the same reason as we clubbed the South Asian economies together – shared elements of history, cultures, global trade, challenges and opportunities. Some of these countries are still coming out of the pandemic’s negative impact, even as most have returned to pre-pandemic levels of turnover.
China’s impact on the global industry map was also marked by its strides in privacy including the 2017 Cybersecurity Law, the 2021 Data Security Law and the 2021 Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and its adoption of comprehensive privacy law. These laws had critical implications for cross-border data transfers. Moreover, given the high proportion of multinational companies operating in the region, the levels of compliance across businesses dealing in data will rely on prudence and with businesses hiring for the right expertise in data protection. If you are an East Asia based employer, please tell us more about the top skills for success in the regional markets.
West Asia
The West Asia wave targets employers in the Middle Eastern countries excluding parts of the Middle East in Africa. This grouping includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen. Like the Asian parts of the world, this region is diverse culturally and linguistically, and home to some high economic growth zones that are powering the demand for more e-commerce, and improved marketing research. The digital revolution in this region has spurred increased reliance on and adoption of new technologies in data and insights. Set in some of the most breathtaking geographies and environments, sustainability has emerged a top metric and issue for businesses. Yet the historically political and economic instabilities and uncertainties abound, making this a complex landscape to conduct research in. What skills are needed for success in these broadly West Asian markets?
Central Asia
The Central Asia wave targets employers in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. This group is also culturally and linguistically distinct and home to emerging economies that present the opportunities in growing economies but challenges in the lack of infrastructure and reliable data, forcing companies to innovate in the region. Similar to the Middle East and West Asia, the political uncertainties persist and must be considered when evaluating the conditions for doing research successfully for employers or organizations based here. If you are a data and insights employer based in Central Asia, please take this 5-minute survey.
Thank you for helping shape the future of skills and education in data and insights globally. The results of each wave will be presented at local market virtual career fairs, conferences, and circulated widely.
