New Data Certifications Extend CompTIA Product Roadmap

Comptia Data+ Certification Debuts This Quarter; Future Products Focused on Data Science, Systems and Foundational Knowledge

CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, announced it will create additional certifications and learning resources to serve the fast-growing market for data skills.

The association’s first data-specific credential, CompTIA Data+, will launch this quarter. CompTIA Data+ is an early-career data analytics certification for professionals tasked with developing and promoting data-driven business decision-making.

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Additional new certifications and learning materials centered on data knowledge and skills will be introduced beginning in 2023, with resources available for all career levels – early (CompTIA Data Foundations), intermediate for data analytics (CompTIA Data+) and data systems (CompTIA DataSys+) and advanced data science (CompTIA DataSci+).

“As the use of data grows in all aspects of business operations companies are learning that they need to develop teams with diverse and distinct skills at several levels, from a foundational understanding of the basics of data to advanced skillsets in areas such as data science and systems,” said Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA president and CEO.

During the past 12 months, there were over 193,000 job postings by U.S. employers for data analysts, data mining specialists, data engineers and data scientists. More than half of the positions are in the 0-2 years or 3-5 years of experience range. The need for core data skills extends beyond data-specific job roles. Employers listed over one million job postings over the past 12 months seeking candidates with skills in data analysis, data mining or data visualization.

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Yet according to CompTIA’s “Data Management and Analysis Trends” report just one in four companies report being exactly where they want to be with their utilization of data, meaning the majority recognize a need for improvement in some area. The top reported data challenges facing organizations include the need for more timely data analysis; the ability work across multiple data sets and data types; and to close data-related skills gaps among staff.

“Organizations that think strategically about overcoming data silos and developing a data-first mindset among staff will be positioned to unlock the full potential of data,” Thibodeaux added.

Data-related jobs are projected to be among the fastest-growing occupations through the balance of this decade, with some positions, such as data scientists, expected to grow up to five times faster than other occupations.

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