[MUSIC] Currently, the amount of data in the digital universe doubles every two years. Think about how much data you have at your fingertips right now, including the 500 million tweets people send every single day, the 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. The percentage of mobile things in the Internet of things will be over 75% by 2020, while new sources of data like sensors, actuators, and intelligent devices will continually emerge. Data and analytic skills enable organizations to use all of these types of data to make informed decisions. Hello, I'm Mike Fenlon, and I serve as the global talent leader for PwC. A majority of business and technology executives agree that one of the major challenges we all face is turning such an overwhelming amount of data into real insight. And a big reason for this is the skills gap between what businesses need and what job seekers and those who want to advance their careers possess. As the role of data in making decisions in business grows, new jobs are being created that demand new sets of skills. And the skills that we all took for granted as basic for career advancement are changing. Organizations around the world need people to be able to use data and apply analytics, and not just for data and analytics positions. These are becoming key skills for many, and perhaps all types of jobs and positions. I want to give you a little bit of background on why this specialization is so important. At PwC, data is at the heart of everything we do. The real power of data lies in creating actionable insights and in how we apply these insights to the strategic choices we make in organizations, as well as how we operate. At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems, especially the challenges that arise as our world undergoes rapid and dramatic change. And we've identified five megatrends that are impacting the global marketplace and creating new challenges and opportunities. One is urbanization as we face a huge shift of people moving from rural and suburban locations into cities around the world. Another is the accelerating rate of population growth. Then there's climate change and the skyrocketing demand for more natural resources. For example, over the next 30 years, we'll need 50% more energy, 40% more water, and 35% more food. There are global shifts in economic and political power. And finally, of course, technology is exploding, and the digital data each of us has at our fingertips is changing every business and organization. More powerful sources of data and analytic tools give us the ability to create the insights that will allow us to solve the new challenges and opportunities we will face today and tomorrow. That's why organizations need people with the right skills to take the overwhelming amount of data, analyze it, visualize it, and use it to generate new insights. Organizations have collected and analyzed data for decades. But the role of data and analytics and the skills required to make the most of them have become progressively more important. We've seen new roles being created in many different types of organizations, such as data scientist and chief data officer positions. But it's not just new roles that require data and analytics skills. As traditional data and analytics roles evolve, the skills and experience needed to fill them are evolving quickly. And 57% of data and analytics recruiters say it is difficult to find people with the necessary qualifications. This course will provide an introduction to basic skills in data analysis, how to visualize and communicate what data tells us, and how to crystallize key insights with simplicity and clarity. These skills are relevant for all of us and can serve as an important differentiator at any stage of your career. While we're focused on building some important technical skills in this course, it's also important to adopt a holistic mindset in how you develop yourself. In fact, the ability to translate data into insight and communicate effectively and influence others depends on a broader set of capabilities, as well. For example, at PwC our people use the PwC Professional, our global career progression framework that, in addition to technical skills like data analysis, includes broader business acumen, relationship skills, global acumen, and the skills required to work across cultures and differences, whole leadership, designed to develop skills needed to lead at all levels. Now, this broad base will equip you to not only solve challenges, but also to frame issues in a broader context so you can ask the right questions, the ones that lead to root causes and solutions. In this specialization, you'll learn from our PwC professionals about how to use data and analytics to solve important problems. As we close, I'm going to ask you to think about one word, potential. Let it sink in. It's a powerful word. Have you ever known someone who has not fulfilled his or her potential? As Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee put in their book The Second Machine Age, acquiring an education is the best way to not be left behind as technology races ahead. By taking responsibility for your own development, by pushing yourself and demonstrating the perseverance to complete this course and advance your development, you're positioning yourself to not only be relevant in a rapidly changing world, but to be on the path to fulfilling your potential in your career. So I urge you to take responsibility for advancing your own development and start to build a foundation of skills that will help enable you to fulfill your own potential. What problems will data and analytic skills help you solve while advancing your own career? [MUSIC]
