We recently caught up with Nasir Hussain who recently completed the ICAEW Data Analytics Certificate programme. He spoke about his career history, what led him to study the programme, and his advice for others wishing to upskill in data.
ICAEW Data Analytics Certificate
At Kaplan, we have collaborated with ICAEW to develop the highly practical Data Analytics Certificate programme. This is specifically tailored to finance professionals working in decision support, audit and assurance roles.
The programme allows learners to take one of two pathways: Analyst and Management.
The Analysed pathway is ideal for finance professionals looking to develop their data analytics and visuaisation skills. The course is designed to guide learners through the data analytics process, giving the practical skills to harness data and understand what this means for the business.
This pathway also provides knowledge and experience working with the programming language, Python, where the skills and capabilities are transferable.
The Management pathway is tailored to finance professionals working in a senior management, or leadership role, and are wanting to enhance their own understanding of data analytics to help develop the capabilities of their teams.
This pathway highlights the value of upskilling in data analytics, and how evidence-based insights can significantly support decision making. The management pathway is shorter than the analyst, as it’s targeted towards more senior professionals within the organisation.
Nasir opted to study via the Analyst pathway to help open up opportunities in his career. Let’s take a closer look…
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and career history?
I originally graduated with a Computer Science degree, and have since worked as a Data Scientist, or in Data Analytics, in various organisations.
My previous experiences were mainly focused around web application development. But with the emergence of data in today’s world, I shifted to Data Sciences in 2018. I currently work as a Data Analyst, and I also provide corporate training related to data analytics and machine learning.
I was in a job role as Manager Predictive Analytics in the financial sector, but I chose to study the ICAEW certification as it opened up more opportunities in my training career and it benefits to have an internationally accredited certification in my working domain.
Although there are lots of certifications available, in my job role, I train finance professionals on Python and using this programming language for data analysis - so getting certified by a finance institute like ICAEW is a plus.
How did you find the learning platform for the ICAEW Data Analyst Certificate?
It was very practical and based on real-life scenarios so I enjoyed it.
In terms of topics and content in the course, I would say that time series analysis was tough, but I really enjoyed that part. I also think it’s important to learn more about statistics - more specifically, inferential statistics.
Is there any advice that you’d give to other learners wanting to progress their career?
I’d say that only knowing isn’t OK. If you really wish to work as a data analyst, you must practice.
I think that anyone interested in data should join the Kaggle community, where you can find the latest trends and technologies. It’s followed by data scientists and analysts all around the world.
Ready to transform your workplace?
Whether you’re looking to upskill in data analytics from a finance perspective, or develop your knowledge to support your team, the ICAEW Data Analytics Certificate programme will give you the skills and practical experience you need to excel.