The survey results showed that the shortage of data personnel has worsened.
The data industry is growing more than 15% compared to the previous year, which is worsening the situation of the shortage of data personnel according to the '2021 Data Industry Status Survey' performed by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency.
However, many are expecting a turning point when the 'Basic Act on Data Industry Promotion and Utilization Promotion' (hereinafter referred to as the Basic Data Act) is implemented.
The Basic Data Act requires the state to train data experts as a duty. Many people are raising their voices for the law to be established effectively in the field.
◇ 18,148 additional data personnel required
The domestic data industry market was estimated to be KRW 23.97 trillion last year. It grew at an average annual rate of 17.1% from 2019 to 2021. The market is expected to exceed KRW 47 trillion by 2027.
The demand for personnel in the data industry is increasing, and is expected to need a total of 18,148 additional workers by 2026. The manpower shortage rate expresses the difference between the current number of personnel and the personnel required, and the difference was 12.2%. △Data scientist, △data analyst, and △data developer were the fields that required positions for the manpower.
The president of the Korea Data Industry Association, Hyungchil Lee, said, "There is an absolute shortage of data-related personnel in the field, and the government's personnel training is not meeting the demand."
Despite the current situation, many have high hopes for the Basic Data Act. The Basic Data Act is a plan that contains the basic direction of policies for nurturing data experts and utilizing experts.
Article 25 of the Basic Data Act mainly includes: △Designation of data specialist training institutions △Development and utilization of education and training programs △Cooperation with academia, industry, and public institutions to foster data specialists △Proposition to create jobs for data specialists and to provide employment connection △Preparation of standards for data-related tasks and support for qualification and settlement of new positions.
President Lee expressed his expectation for the implementation of the government that “Article 25 of the Basic Data Act will serve as a strong foundation for the data industry from a long and short-term perspective.”
◇ Restoration of professional expert nurturing institutions… Reorganization of university education
It is requiring that the legislative effect should be enhanced through follow-up supplementary work in order for the Basic Data Act to be effective in nurturing professional personnels. There is a breach between making laws and implementing them.
There is a consensus that an urgent need for the restoration of data specialist training institutions. The necessity for increasing the number of data-related departments as well as reforming the departments centered around data are important; however, the reality is that it would be difficult to solve the manpower shortage at this moment. It is also criticized that the university education alone cannot guarantee practical competency in the field.
The necessity of reforming university education is also discussed.
An official from a data company said, “Practical education is necessary at universities since there is a big gap between companies and universities. In order for the theory-oriented education at universities to be empircal to practical competency development, it is necessary to increase the proportion of detailed curriculum s that reflects the demand for manpower in the industrial field as well as practical projects.”
There were also voices calling for taking consideration to private opinions for a long-term perspective on the establishment and implementation of a data personnel nurturing policy.
Seongyeob Lee, a professor at Korea University Graduate School of Management of Technology (Chairman of Korea Data Law and Policy Society), said, “The government continued to train personnels through given budget support; yet, the data industry has expanded significantly more than anticipated. There is a need for re-establishing the manpower demand plan by collecting corporate opinions.”
Data industry market size (unit: KRW 100 million)
By Staff Reporter Hyemi Kwon (hyeming@etnews.com)