The purpose of this research is to investigate the skills that are advertised in the job market, that business analysts and data analysts perceive as the most important, so as to discover the difference between business analysts and data analysts’ perceptions towards different skills.
A questionnaire based on previous literature was designed and distributed to people who are either business analysts or data analysts in the scope of New Zealand and Australia. The conclusions indicate that both business analysts and data analysts perceive business skills as the most important skillset. Moreover, there is no significant difference between the perceptions of the two groups towards soft skills, business skills and green-related skills.
In terms of technical skills, data analysts perceive they are of more importance than business analysts. Further tests indicate that that data analysts perceive having knowledge of basic statistics, coding in Python, coding in JavaScript, and coding in HTML are more important than business analysts perceive them to be.
This research can benefit (a) people seeking business analyst or data analyst roles in New Zealand or Australia, (b) institutions and schools to seeking to develop their curriculums, (c) organisations seeking to recruit employees with the skills they need, and (d) future studies.
Trevor has a background that includes teaching and the support of teaching in the polytechnic and university sector over a number of years. His academic research currently includes the use of data analytics, cloud based accounting systems, digital badges in higher education, adaptive learning and educational technologies more generally. Trevor is currently working as an Academic Developer in the Blended Learning Development Team at the University of Canterbury.