Industry Demands Skills More Than PPTs

Presentation skills have always been a USP for management students. MBA graduates are taught and trained to use PowerPoint presentations from the very beginning. Apart from being one of the most effective tools of communication / presentation in any industry sector, PPTs are visually engaging and an interactive way to share content. They are extensively leveraged in making pitch decks, progress reports, documenting research projects as well as insights. In addition to MS PowerPoint, tools like Haiku Deck, Canva, Emaze, Visme, and Google Slides, etc. are also popular and widely used. Besides presentation skills, the other skills that the industry deems desirable are:

1. Computing Skills – Excel
2. Project Management 
3. Communication – Verbal, Written, Non-verbal
4. Team Work & Collaboration
5. Listening Skills
6. Conflict Resolution

 

However, in today’s era of smart machines and globalization, Industry 4.0 requires a new skillset other than just presentation and communication skills. The business strategies are data-driven these days, and organizations have realized the significance of ‘data.’ The importance of uncovering hidden patterns, making correlations, understanding market trends, and customer preferences is the need of the hour. Big Data Analytics is a multi-dimensional field that requires skills such as predictive modelling, mathematical & statistical knowledge, and machine learning techniques. Almost all industries are using Big Data Analytics, such as:

1. Banking & Finance: BDA allows financial institutions to work on extensive unstructured data and make sound business decisions.
2. Healthcare: BDA helps manage and analyze large amounts of patient-related information and help provide lifesaving diagnosis / treatment.
3. Retail: BDA helps retailers understand and analyze customer demands, predict trends, suggest options based on likes and dislikes, and boost profitability.
4. Clinical Research: BDA helps in developing intelligent and automated solutions in the field of clinical research. 

 

Industry requires professionals such as Functional Analysts, Data Analysts, Data Scientists, Data-Driven Decision Makers (Managers), Business Intelligence Analysts, System Analyst, etc. Some popular analytics tools that will help students get an edge while entering the industry, along with communication and presentation skills are:

1. Tableau Desktop
2. Google Analytics
3. AI-Enabled Apps
4. Structured Query Language
5. R Programming 
6. Python
7. Google Sheets
8. Machine Learning – Orange
9. Visual Basic
10. SAS

 

Knowledge and skills in data analytics tools are short in supply but high in demand. Professionals can excel if they encompass a medley of traditional and contemporary skills such as the above.