The SAS Talent Connection Program
The World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, 2023, states that by 2027, companies are expected to increase their use of AI by 75%. Why is this important? Because we know Australian and New Zealand businesses are experiencing a skyrocketing requirement for data and AI skills. So, when a SAS customer says, “where can I find SAS skilled data and AI talent”, part of your response should include – “SAS has a program that focuses on developing early career talent. Have you heard of the SAS Global Academic Program and the Talent Connection Program?”
Building a pipeline of SAS skilled talent
You may have a customer who reports, “staff are required to pick up old SAS jobs to run, but don’t know how to fix/improve them”. New staff then try to export the data into R, Python or other apps like MS PowerBI which can threaten SAS’s position within the client. Or a client that shares “the team skilled in SAS has a high turnover”. Most of the new recruits have only open-source skills and no SAS skills. Which again can threaten SAS’s position within the client.
This is why SAS created the Global Academic Program and offers our customers access to the Talent Connection Program. That’s why SAS is committed to building a data, AI, and technology-enabled workforce. And why we support higher education institutions that deliver programs to close the data and AI skills gap, as well as academic-industry collaborations that help our customers develop a strong data and AI culture.
Don't listen to me, read the Commonwealth Secretariat journey
As an example, it is SAS’s commitment to building a data, AI, and technology-enabled workforce, that grabbed the attention of the Commonwealth Secretariat, leading to the recent launch of the Commonwealth and SAS Data Literacy and AI initiative. A program designed to enhance data literacy and artificial intelligence (AI) skills across Commonwealth nations.
Our customer commitment
So when a customer says, we find it difficult to recruit SAS skilled talent. You can, in part reply “The Commonwealth Secretariat were so impressed with SAS’s commitment to building a data, AI, and technology-enabled workforce, that they chose to partner with SAS and…” Commitments such as the Workforce Connection program that helps customers like Westpac access early career talent.
Call to Action
So, next time you speak to your customer, you can share that SAS is committed to building a data, AI, and technology-enabled workforce. That’s why we support higher education institutions that deliver programs to close the data and AI skills gap, as well as academic-industry collaborations that help our customers develop a strong data and AI culture. The SAS Talent Connection program fosters this ecosystem by building partnerships that integrate industry-relevant, applied data, AI, and technology learning pathways into higher education programs. It also connects our customers with academic partners and emerging talent.
