The Frightening Gap in Data Careers

Minnesota State IT Center for Excellence Announces the Data Competency Curriculum Development Project

Burning-Glass Technologies estimates that in a 12 month period the number of job title career postings for Data Analytics positions in the US was a little over 41,000; while the number of job skill descriptions that include data analyticsData Career Information within the job description was over 250,000!

These statistics show the demand for data science skills has tripled over the past five years – with no end in sight. Our world runs on data and the need for qualified employees with data skills continues to grow.

Organizations that need data to make business decisions are looking for qualified employees and in turn are asking higher education institutions to help them fill the gap. In Minneapolis/St. Paul alone there are currently over 800 open positions for employees with an A.S. or B.S. in Data.

Current listings on datascience.community/colleges shows that Minnesota only has six (6) specific Data science degrees offered across five (5) colleges.

• University of MN – Business Analytics Master’s degree
• University of MN, Duluth – Retail Marketing Analytics bachelor’s degree
• University of ST. Thomas – MS in Data Science
• Winona State University – Bachelor’s degree in Data Science
• Capella University – Business Intelligence Cert, MBA in Business Intelligence and MS in Analytics

It will be impossible for these 6 degrees to cover the needs of employers, not just nationwide but specifically in Minnesota.

Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence has a goal of helping bridge the gap between institutional offerings and industry needs. As part of our ongoing mission to position Minnesota as a top-ten regional economy for information technology that addressing talent needs of IT employers, enhancing career success for IT students, and increasing enrollment in IT programs; we are pleased to announce the Data Curriculum Development Project.

The Data Competency Curriculum Development Project is in the early creation stage but has the following goals:

1. To compile a working list of industry competencies and needs within data science
2. To create online and face to face courses that specifically align with industry needs
3. To develop at least 10 college level courses that can be accessed and used by any Minnesota State institution to create and develop their own data science degree or certificate program
4. To develop a career pathway for students within the Minnesota State system that leads from education to employment.

We will begin asking for support and working members in the next coming weeks with a project kick – off of November 13^th. If you would like to be part of this project, please contact Janice.aanenson@metrostate.edu for more information!