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Industry Demand & Engagement

Technology is a key industrial sector in the central Ohio region. According to Columbus 2020 the regional economic development agency, the region hosts more than 2,100 technology-focused businesses and nearly 60,000 individuals are employed in the technology sector. The state’s economic-development agency, JobsOhio, identified information technology as a targeted industry for continued growth (JobsOhio, 2016). As the need for a workforce with increasingly sophisticated technology skills increases, so does the importance of a curriculum that provides individuals with foundational science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge as well as specific technology competencies. The use of big data is a driving force behind much of the decision making and problem solving taking place in our communities today. The Columbus region is home to fourteen Fortune 1000 companies, and has been ranked as the number one market for tech talent among similar sized metro areas. (Technology Spotlight, 2018) Additionally, in 2016 the City of Columbus was $40 million from the UD Department of Transportation and up to $10 million from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc. to supplement the $90 million that the city has already raised from other private partners to carry out its plan for the “vision for the future of the American City” in terms of transportation and mobility. (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2016) Per the U.S. Department of Transportation, “Columbus was selected as the winner because it put forward an impressive, holistic vision for how technology can help all of the city’s residents to move more easily and to access opportunity.” (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2016) As the City of Columbus looks to transform knowledge into action, the need for qualified data technicians will continue to grow. This program in Data Analytics and Technician Advancement is uniquely positioned train individuals to feed this industry demand.

Industry Trends and Job Growth

Prospects across the 11-county central Ohio region are bright for well-educated data analysts and
related specialists. With a growing need for a versatile, technologically skilled workforce comes the need for a curriculum that combines foundational science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge with specific, advanced technological training. By 2024, central Ohio employers in retail, healthcare, logistics, banking, government and other fields, will need 1,794 additional technicians (a 20% growth rate) earning wages averaging $38.10 per hour (EMSI, 2016). These specialists will need to understand Machine Learning and employ computer querying languages such as SQL, and scripting languages including Python and R—in addition to learning how to define problems, analyze audiences and present predictive modeling results for industry audiences. Industry partners who collaborate regularly with the Columbus State advisory committees have substantiated these trends and expect the demand for computer analysts and researchers to increase into the foreseeable future.

Industry Advisory Team

In an effort to engage with business and industry on the use and benefits of an internship guide Columbus State Community College and Education Development Center held planning meetings and teleconferences with local area employers that led to an agreement on a process for developing this internship guide. It was agreed that local business and industry employers would play a central role in helping to shape the content and structure of the internship guide. The goals for employers would be to:

  1. Review existing documents that describe essential data worker skills,
  2. Identify data worker skills that are most important for an intern,
  3. Assist in the development of a tool that could be used to assess performance of data tasks by interns, and
  4. Review additional resources and forms whose inclusion would make the internship guide useful to employers.

This Industry Team met in March of 2018, and an overview of the Data Analytics and Technician Advancement project was given, as well as an overview of Columbus State Community College’s work to redesign a robust data pathway. Business and industry employers were introduced to the materials developed by Columbus State Community College and Education Development Center that describe data workers’ skills, and provided information of the initial planning process regarding the composition of the internship guide. The project team facilitated conversation among business and industry employers, allowing them to discuss, in broad terms, the challenges and benefits involved in sponsoring interns.

The Industry Advisory Team was is comprised of the following industry and educational partners:

Jared Adams- Nationwide IT Enterprise Data Office
Ann Beheler- Collin College
Alicia Croft- Columbus State Community College
Jim Gallo- Information Control Corporation
David Judson- Cardinal Health
Jeff Kannel- Centric Consulting
Michael Levin- Otterbein University
Krish Rajaram- Nationwide Insurance
Barbara Schaffner- Otterbein University
Dave Stucki- Otterbein University
Zhao Weiyan- Nationwide Insurance

A summary of the key findings and data collected in the meeting is presented in the following document: Columbus State Community College Data Analytics Kick-Off Meeting.

Industry Driven Data Technician Skills and Abilities

The initial grant project resources from CSCC included documents from 2015 and 2017 compression planning sessions. The 2015 compression planning session identified five skills and abilities as well as general knowledge areas for an entry-level Data Analyst Technician. The purpose of the compression planning session held in 2017 was to define curriculum and structure for the Data Analytics program at employer partner, Nationwide Financial Services. This session identified content areas and skills needed in three content areas, one of which included Data Analytics.

See 2015 Compression Planning Results for the results of the 2015 Compression Planning Session.
See 2017 Compression Planning Results for the results of the 2017 Compression Planning Session.

Pre-existing resources reviewed from Education Development Center were their Profile of a Data Practitioner and their Data Practitioner rubrics. The Profile of the Data Practitioner was developed as part of an ongoing NSF ATE Creating Pathways for Big Data Careers Project (1501927), and provides a detailed description of the work responsibilities, skills, knowledge, and behaviors of a successful technician-level Data Practitioner. The profile was created by a panel of expert data workers representing a wide range of industry sectors, and vetted by nearly 100 data workers country-wide. The Data Practitioner rubrics are also a products of the NSF ATE Creating Pathways for Big Data Careers Project (1501927), and provide examples of what the work responsibilities of a Data Practitioner look like when performed at four different levels of proficiency. These rubrics provide a foundation upon which assessments can be conducted of the performance of a Data Practitioner’s work tasks.

See Profile of the Data Practitioner and Data Practitioner rubrics for more information on EDC’s work.

After reviewing the pre-existing resources, the project team analyzed and mapped the results from the 2015 and 2017 Columbus State Community College compression planning sessions to the identified tasks in Education Development Center’s Data Practitioner rubrics. The analysis of the compression planning results and the Data Practitioner profile resulted charts that identify areas of alignment between the documents. Based upon the reviews and alignment, CSCC and EDC agreed that the Data Practitioner profile and rubrics would serve as the foundation for planning the Data Technician internship guide.

Please see the following for mapping information from the 2015 and 2017 planning sessions.

Sources:

EMSI (Electronic Modeling Specialists International proprietary database. (2016) Employment Projections. Coeur d'Alene, ID. Economic Modeling Specialists International. http://www.economicmodeling.com)

JobsOhio. (2016) Information Technology. https://jobsohio.com/industries/information-technology/
Technology Spotlight. (2018) https://columbusregion.com/industries/tech/

Department Contact

Academics Department

(614) 287-0000

academics@cscc.edu