Assessing the Alignment of Philippine Higher Education with the Emerging Demands for Data Science and Analytics Workforce

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Rapid advancement in technology has allowed for far-reaching use of data. This has consequently led to an increasing demand for Data Science and Analytics (DSA) professionals. However, recent studies show that such demand is often not met in many economies. Such DSA skills shortage is claimed to be rooted in the mismatch between the skills the industry demands and the skills academic institutions supply. As the first step in addressing this shortage of industry-ready DSA workers, it is necessary to know the DSA skills demanded by the industry and the DSA skills with which academic institutions equip their students. To do this, the study employed the Analytics Association of the Philippines' (AAP) Professional Maturity Model, which is based on the ten APEC-recommended DSA competencies, as analytical framework. The study reveals misalignment between the demand and supply of the DSA workforce in the country. Specifically, there are DSA competencies sought by employers that are poorly supplied by existing DSA-related undergraduate programs. To allow the growth and maturity of the still infant analytics industry, there is a need to address the current lack of a common definition of the analytics profession among stakeholders. The study further endorses the promotion of government-industry-academe linkages to expand the existing market for DSA workforce in the country.