BEIS splashes £30m on data scientists
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has more than quadrupled the number of data analysts and data scientists it employs, with a 408 per cent increase in expenditure since 2017, according to official figures.
The data was obtained via the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank which revealed the dramatic increase in the number of employees in data-based roles year on year calendars years between 2017 to 2021.
Over the reporting period, the amount of money invested in hiring into data-based roles has increased from £6,026,880 to £30,590,980. The number has taken the total number of employees in data roles from 146 to a staggering 619.
The most significant surge happened between 2019 and 2020, seeing a rise of 261 employees. This took the estimated staff bill up by around £12,678,200 in that year alone.
This comes in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which presented a need for a greater number of data staff, and now these staff are needed for post-pandemic recovery. Data has proven to be extremely valuable during the pandemic, with a focus now being required on how data is used and managed, calling for an upskilling of the work force.
Neil Parker, General Manager EMEA for Laiye, commented: “It’s encouraging to see BEIS investing heavily in analytics, particularly at a time when government departments are crying out for innovation following the strain and disruption caused by the global pandemic. However, boosting headcounts in this core area should be part of a much wider strategy for the public sector, which has yet to full embrace the true capabilities of AI and intelligent automation technologies.
“During the Covid-19 crisis we all saw the true value of our public servants, from HMRC staff tasked with supporting struggling businesses to doctors and nurses fighting the virus on the frontline. The time has come to empower these professionals, by overhauling manual systems, removing repetitive work cycles and reengineering legacy processes, setting them free to concentrate on delivering world class public services.”