Change the curriculum to meet future demand for data scientists, report says

Demand for data scientists and data engineers has more than tripled over five years (+231%), according to a new Royal Society report.

If the UK wants to meet the needs of employers, the report says the education system needs an overhaul within ten years to ensure it provides all young people with data science knowledge and skills.  

Professor Andrew Blake FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Society’s working group on data science, says: “Addressing Britain’s chronic supply issues requires radical action. Working as a data expert requires knowing your maths, coding and computer science as well as problem solving, resilience and communication. A-levels do not equip young people with the broad enough range of skills they need for these jobs, let alone the jobs that do not even exist yet, so overhauling the British education system is a priority.

“More needs to be done at universities too, where the intense hiring drives of tech giants increasingly lead to an exodus of researchers seeking better data, more computing power and higher salaries. More joint university and industry positions could help ensure that talented scientists stay in academia and train future generations to come. Universities may want think about embracing this joint model for data science and AI, to help secure their AI talent for the future.”

The report analyses the demand for professionals with highly specialist data expertise, which includes roles like data scientists, data engineers, statisticians, biostatisticians, economists and financial quantitative analysts.

To ensure young people leave school with the best possible start, the report calls for curriculum change in schools within the next ten years. This should include the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects to 18, and to develop valuable transferable skills such as communication, problem solving, and teamwork – well suited for the interdisciplinary nature of data science.

The report also recommends change at universities, raising concerns that salaries offered by large tech companies could drain teaching talent away from academia. Funding bodies like UKRI could support joint appointments for the UK’s most talented researchers to work in both industry and academia.