World's Leading Brands Focus On Acquiring New-Age Skills

Every year on September 8, International Literacy Day is celebrated across the globe by UNESCO to acknowledge the improvements in world literacy while working on the challenges that remain. However, in an ever-evolving world that is turning more digital by every passing day, the definition of literacy needs to expand to also cover emerging yet fundamental skills that go beyond being able to read and write. Here’s what the top and emerging brands venturing into equipping young minds and professionals with emerging skills like data literacy and cybersecurity have to say on the occasion of International Literacy Day.

Ankur Goel, Managing Director, Qlik India said, "International Literacy Day is a timely reminder of the essential skills that form the foundations of education and employment. But literacy does not only apply to letters and words… with the volume of data being created today doubling every two years – it goes without saying that reading and understanding this data will become essential to all – but especially so for the younger generation who will be joining the workforce.

Young people are already almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and the education system as it stands is unable to adequately prepare them for this new generation of work – of those 16-24 year-olds already in the workforce, Qlik’s Global Data Literacy Report found 52% are overwhelmed by the data they must read and analyse as part of their job. Additionally, the research suggests that most (81%) full-time employees in India admit to feeling overwhelmed when reading, working with, analysing or challenging data. At Qlik, we are already working towards creating a more data empowered society through initiatives like the Data Literacy Project whose mission is to enable individuals at every stage in their data literacy journey. The portal provides at no cost - assessments, courses and even globally recognised certification, where individuals can upskill themselves. The Qlik Academic Program also works with over 150 universities in India to provide access to the Qlik Data Analytics Curriculum, which offers professors ready-to-teach, free resources – including instructor-led content, in-class activities and interactive business use cases. As the success of the digital economy lies in equipping the current and future workforce with the skills to succeed, data literacy training programs must be placed front and centre both in the education system and the workplace to boost their chances of success in a rapidly changing future world of work.”

Mr. Rakesh Kharwal, MD - India, Cyberbit says, "“Today, India is at an interesting crossroad and is brilliantly positioned to not just shape the regional discourse, but to transform the socio-economic dynamics at a global scale. With the ongoing digitization, India is rapidly adopting technological solutions and developing relevant skills. The nation has further traveled a long way in terms of cybersecurity, spreading its awareness and adoption quickly within the market. This is also a reason why avant-garde simulation training solutions such as Cyberbit Range are receiving positive traction in the country. We can clearly visualize such tools equipping our nation with the forward-looking skillsets which can eventually generate over 1 million jobs and make India emerge as the global hub of both technological solutions and talent.”