Today’s world is moving from the data age to the big data age. This year’s two sessions, "Big Data" first appeared in the government work report, which shows that our understanding of the importance of big data has risen to the national level.
Like the emergence of the Internet, big data brings not only revolution in the field of information technology, but also changes people’s lives and the way we understand the world, and becomes an important source of more new inventions and services.
What opportunities will the arrival of the era of big data bring to the talent team in China? What kind of challenges are put forward? Who will be the hottest talent in the future? Let’s take a look-
"Everyone can become a talent" will become a reality.
Reporter: What is the use of big data?
Wujiang:The most important function of big data is to accurately predict some uncertain things in the future. For example, in 2008, a Google R&D team predicted the outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) two weeks before the government epidemiologists, using the massive personal search vocabulary data collected on the Internet. Such a thing was unimaginable in the past. After mastering big data, Google did it.
The wave of big data has given mankind the opportunity to form a complete description of something with data for the first time in history. With the increasing ability of data analysis, human beings can effectively predict the future. Big data can help people improve the management level of the whole society, and for the field of talent management, it is a great opportunity to take a new step.
Reporter: What is the most direct impact of big data on talent work?
Wujiang:In the era of small data, data is in the hands of elites; In the era of big data, data is in the hands of ordinary people. The openness and transparency of big data can promote social change and development. The greater significance is that everyone can make rational choices about their future by analyzing big data. In the data age, "everyone can become a talent" will move from concept to reality.
"A new round of brain drain" should be avoided
Reporter: What impact does big data have on global industries?
Wujiang:Like the emergence of the Internet, big data is not only a revolution in the field of information technology, it will start a transparent government, accelerate enterprise innovation and lead social change on a global scale.
A management consulting firm called Accenture surveyed 600 British and American companies last year and found that 33% of the companies surveyed said they were actively using big data throughout the enterprise. 68% of enterprises believe that their own senior management team, as a whole, can participate in and support the deployment of data analysis, and make decisions based on facts. Two-thirds of companies have appointed senior executives in charge of data management and analysis in the previous 18 months, and 71% of other companies are going to appoint such senior executives.
General Electric Company of the United States realized the rare opportunity of big data earlier and took action. GE is starting to invest $1.5 billion in the San Francisco Bay Area to build a global software and analysis center. It plans to employ at least 400 data scientists, and now there are 180 in their respective positions.
A survey conducted by Accenture last year studied the demand for data analysis talents in the United States, China, India, Britain, Japan, Brazil and Singapore, and found that by 2015, all countries except China will face a net shortage of qualified data analysis scientists. China also seems to have a small surplus.
Reporter: Why is there no shortage only in China?
Wujiang:Because of insufficient demand. Only when there is demand can there be a sense of urgency. Our government and enterprises have not paid attention to this problem. Does our enterprise really need big data talents? Of course not, it’s just that we haven’t realized the seriousness of the problem. In order to develop in the era of big data, enterprises and governments must first clarify the post setting of big data executives. Without jobs, how can we retain talents, let alone grab talents?
According to the data released by Accenture, the number of new data analysis executive positions in the United States will account for 44% of the world, but the United States can only provide 23%, and there will be a talent gap of 32,000 people. What about the insufficient part? The United States is bound to snare from all over the world. On the surface, there is still a surplus of such talents in China, so the danger of a new round of brain drain is hard to avoid. However, if China continues to send such talents to the United States, it will fall behind in the international competition in the era of big data.
I believe that from the central government to the local government, we must attach importance to the construction of big data talents, start from the foundation, improve job settings, and actively attract relevant talents globally while cultivating and retaining talents.
"Chief Information Officer" urgently needs to be established
Reporter: What kind of talents does China need most in the era of big data?
Wujiang:Now there is an illusion that when it comes to the era of big data, we think that we need data technology talents most, such as computer talents and mathematical engineering talents.
We really need data technology talents, but the talents who can really help the government and enterprises to change their thinking and meet the challenges of big data are not a technical expert from the IT department, but senior managers of the government and enterprises. I think that for China at present, the urgency of the demand for big data management talents exceeds the urgency of the demand for technical talents.
Leaders of governments and enterprises should also consciously change their way of thinking and learn to think, speak and manage with data. In this rapidly changing society, past experience may even become the bondage of the present. For example, we often hear managers complain that "post-90s" employees are difficult to manage, just because the past incentives didn’t work for them. This is also reflected in China enterprises going abroad. Many people find it difficult to communicate with their bosses, colleagues and subordinates because they grew up in different cultures. Managers need to constantly update their databases, learn to use big data methods, and find suitable solutions at any time.
Reporter: Where should we start to form a team of big data management talents?
Wujiang:First of all, we must set up special data management posts, enter the decision-making level, and promote all units to meet the arrival of the era of big data. I have submitted the Proposal on Establishing the System of Government Chief Information Officer for several times in succession, suggesting that CIO offices should be set up in governments at all levels and their subordinate departments, with the chief information officer as the person in charge and directly responsible to the chief executive of the government or department. Their positions must be in a matrix structure, with a special leading body in the central government to promote the formation of a national database and data platform, and personnel should communicate regularly in order to master the data in all directions and eliminate information islands.
The foothold of the government chief information officer system is to serve the whole country and avoid whitewashing peace for a certain unit. This year, I submitted a proposal in this regard again, and this issue must be highly concerned. (Reporter Luo Xu)
Sound sound
● Member Gu Binglin, former president of Tsinghua University:
The arrival of the era of big data is the result of data accumulation from quantitative change to qualitative change. We didn’t have big data talents before. In the future, higher education must take the lead in making adjustments and reserve talents in advance.
● Member Gan Yong, Vice President of China Academy of Engineering:
The establishment of a national big data platform will directly reduce the cost of innovation activities, reduce detours, shorten the research and development cycle, and promote researchers to quickly achieve some innovative results.
● Member Wang Wenxue, Chairman of Huaxia Happiness Foundation:
Without a big data platform, there will be no senior talents. Whoever can establish the big data system as soon as possible will take the initiative in the new round of talent war.
● Representative of Lei Jun, Chairman of Xiaomi Technology:
The government should fully understand the importance and strategic position of big data, establish a training mechanism for big data talents in universities and scientific research institutions, and fund or set up special funds to support the research on key technologies of big data.
Deputy Wang Xueqiu, Director of the Key Laboratory of Geochemical Exploration Technology of the Ministry of Land and Resources:
Talents in the era of big data can appear in any corner of the world, and they can work for any company in the world. The internationalization of talents will be opened in all directions, and the talent war will be more intense than ever.
Deputy Shi Kerong, Vice Chairman of Langfang Federation of Industry and Commerce, Hebei Province:
As the basis of future competition, big data talents will change the way of enterprise decision-making, value creation and value realization, accurately grasp customer needs and win new market and competitive advantages for enterprises.
Chain connection
Hot jobs in the era of big data
● Data planner
Before a product is designed, it can provide key data support for enterprise’s decision-making, realize the maximization of enterprise’s data value, better implement differentiated competition, and help enterprises gain the first opportunity in the competition.
● Data Engineer
Designers, builders and managers of big data infrastructure, who develop an architecture that can analyze and provide data according to the needs of enterprises. At the same time, their architecture can also ensure the smooth operation of the system.
● Data Architect
Good at dealing with scattered data and all kinds of irrelevant data, proficient in statistical methods, able to obtain original data through monitoring system and interpret data from a statistical point of view.
● Data analyst
The responsibility is to transform data into information that can be used by enterprises through analysis. They find problems through data, accurately find the causes of problems, and find the key points for the next improvement.
● Data application division
Restore data to the product for use by the product. They can express the information contained in the data in a language that ordinary people can understand, and promote internal adjustment according to the data analysis conclusion.
● Data scientist
A leader in big data, with a variety of interdisciplinary scientific and business skills, can turn data and technology into business value of enterprises. (Luo Xu, Xuan Wang finishing)