Does gathering, organising and analysing data to help businesses operate efficiently sound good to you? If so, read on to find out how the level 4 data analyst apprenticeship could help start a new career. Alternatively, you could change roles within your current organisation and complete the apprenticeship training.
Jobs and entry criteria for the level 4 data analyst apprenticeship
The data analyst apprenticeship provides opportunities for an apprentice to learn the skills required to perform typical data roles. These include jobs such as: Data Modeller, Data Architect or Data Manager. Data Manager salaries in the UK average at £38k proving that this can be a lucrative career choice. The data analyst apprenticeship provides an excellent opportunity for starting on a pathway that offers excellent career progression opportunities. A salary of £150k is achievable as a Data Modeller and many job opportunities are advertised in this range. It’s not all about money though and data is one of the big career growth areas. You can future proof your career by using the level 4 data analyst apprenticeship as a starting point. You may even be able to use data in the future to identify further progression opportunities!
If this all sounds too good to be true, it’s not! Although normally set by employers, the entry requirements for the data analyst apprenticeship are typically 5 or more GCSEs. Alternatively, a level 3 college course or apprenticeship or maybe even less than this. An employer may hire you regardless of your background if you are the right fit for their organisation. This gives everyone the chance to succeed on this apprenticeship! If you haven’t got up to date English and Maths certificates, you will get the opportunity to complete these if needed.
Key responsibilities of a data analyst apprentice
The primary role of a Data Analyst is to collect, organise and study data to provide business insight. Data analysts are typically involved with managing, cleansing, abstracting and aggregating data, and conducting a range of analytical studies on that data. They work across a variety of projects, providing technical data solutions to a range of stakeholders and customers. Data Analysts document and report the results of data analysis activities making recommendations to improve business performance. As an analyst you will have a good understanding of data structures, database systems and procedures. In addition to this, you will understand how to use a range of analytical tools to undertake different types of analysis.
Level 4 Data Analyst Core Competencies
As part of your job role, you will carry out duties that will satisfy a number of competencies. Some examples are:
- identifying and collecting data from internal and external systems
- using organisational data/information security standards and procedures when managing data
- use database queries to extract data from multiple tables
- perform statistical analyses
- use techniques such as: data mining, modelling and time-series forecasting to predict trends and patterns
- create performance dashboards and reports where needed
- perform data cleansing and quality checking
- use tools and techniques to summarise, present and visualise data and create reports for stakeholders
The occupational standard, assessment plan and occupational brief for the data analyst apprenticeship help you understand these and other competencies in more detail. These three documents are key to understanding what you should to do to prepare for end-point assessment.
Data analyst knowledge modules and vendor exams
As a data analyst you will need to equip yourself with the knowledge of how to manage data in a secure and professional manner. The knowledge modules and vendor exams will help you understand the following:
- data protection legislation
- the data life cycle
- types of data, i.e. public or open data, research data or administrative data
- structured and unstructured data and the difference between both
- data structures and database systems and how to implement and maintain these
- the domain that data is utilised in and the importance of understanding this
- data quality issues and how to manage these
- defining customer requirements when analysing data
- tools and processes used for data integration
- routine data analysis tasks and the what’s involved in carrying these out
- using and applying industry-standard tools/methods for data analysis activities
To demonstrate that you understand the knowledge covered on the level 4 data analyst apprenticeship, you will need to complete knowledge or vendor exams. The approved knowledge exams outlined in the standard are Data Analysis Tools and Data Analysis Concepts. An apprentice must complete both these exams or the Data Analysis Tools exams can be replaced by the Dell EMC Data Science Associate vendor qualification. Update as of 25th of March, the Dell EMC is no longer a required vendor certification. The IFA updated the standard on 19/03/2020 to reflect this.
Conclusion
As you can see, the level 4 data analyst is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to pursue a career in data. The core skills covered in the apprenticeship will open up a wide range of job opportunities. In addition, you will earn while you learn and excellent progression opportunities exist to advance your career. Some examples are the Level 7 Artificial intelligence (AI) data specialist apprenticeship or the Level 6 Data scientist (integrated degree) apprenticeship. Employers are keen to use apprenticeship to shape how their employees learn and progress. The type of job roles that will open up over the coming years could be endless for anyone that commits their future to a career in data.
For a more technical look at this apprenticeship, you should check out our post on the data analyst occupational brief.