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Data Skills 2024: What Financial Firms Need To Know

General Assembly
March 18, 2024
Data Skills 2024: What Financial Firms Need To Know

Today, data is the key to decision-making, modernization, and competitive customer experiences. But without the right people to make sense of it all, this data can become increasingly fragmented and inaccessible — while valuable opportunities slip into the rearview mirror.

Data is only an asset when you have the right people in place who know how to use the data and democratize it across the business. That’s where we see opportunity meet impact.” 
– Angela Brennan, Global Lead Solutions Architect at General Assembly 

But where will you find the right data-savvy talent? In some cases, the answer is: within your own organization. As AI-driven tech makes roles like recordkeepers, data entry clerks, underwriters, and auditors redundant, upskilling and reskilling talent to data-adjacent roles is one powerful strategy for upleveling your capabilities, while preserving your company’s internal wellspring of knowledge and morale. 

That said, not every job opening can be filled internally. As new data roles emerge, you’ll need dependable pipelines for net-new talent that meets the evolving skill sets — and use case requirements — of the data tasks at hand.

To make these pivots quickly and effectively, you’ll need a clearer understanding of data’s growing role in the finance sector and the solutions that exist. 

Why Data Skills Matter To You

Data promises to solve many of the challenges ahead, though it’s not simply a matter of hiring a few data analysts or data scientists and calling it a day. Particularly in finance, there’s a growing demand for data skill sets in data-adjacent roles. 

For example, data skills help: 

  • Risk managers analyze different scenarios and make decisions.
  • Fraud analysts monitor activity, detect anomalies, and automate risk reduction.
  • Sales analysts understand customer behavior and optimize sales strategies.
  • Customer relationship managers personalize relations for engagement and retention.
  • Investment analysts interpret market trends and asset performance.
  • Product managers explore product enhancements and marketing positioning.

In addition, data analysts can help your organization solve countless challenges, including: 

  • Legacy system migrations to handle the volume and complexity of modern data.
  • Silo deconstruction to harness strategic insights with a unified view of information.
  • Regulatory compliance to keep up with rules regarding privacy and security. 
  • Talent shortages, adding skill sets to maximize the value of consumer data.
  • New technology adoption to improve internal tech education and remain competitive.

And this is just a glimpse of how data can advance an organization. Recognizing all this potential, forward-thinking financial institutions are investing heavily in developing a data-savvy workforce. 

What General Assembly Can Do To Help

Given the rapidly evolving financial landscape, staying updated on data analytics tools and techniques is essential for professionals in both data and data-adjacent roles.

For financial institutions ready to drive innovation, employee engagement, and profits, General Assembly delivers a number of innovative employee skill development solutions.

Here’s how:

  1. We Upskill Your Current Data Analysts And Data Practitioners. 
  • Deliver deeper analytics literacy in line with modern best practices. 
  • Fill skills gaps as you evolve your tech stacks.
  • Increase the confidence and leadership of your data teams.
  1. We Reskill Employees To Move Into Data Roles.
  • Identify high-potential employees with untapped aptitude for data roles.
  • Train existing talent to use data more effectively or transition into a data role.
  • Increase data knowledge, skills, and confidence of data-adjacent employees.
  1. We Recruit GA Program Grads For Your Hard-to-Fill Data Roles.
  • Tap a vast, diverse pipeline of GA data analyst bootcamp graduates.
  • Add net-new data analysts and data practitioners to scale your data proficiency.
  • Use train-to-spec programs that can increase project teams locally and abroad. 

Whether you have a particular use case you’re looking to solve with data or you need a workforce with competitive skill sets, General Assembly is your strategic partner in building resilient, future-ready, data-driven teams. 

Scale Your Data Capabilities

There’ll always be an imperative for financial companies to leverage data to enhance risk management, improve customer experience, and streamline internal processes to remain competitive. 

To learn more, download “Analyzing the Future of Finance” for an in-depth look at the data skills, courses, and case studies closing the finance industry’s data capabilities gap.

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