This paper argues that we need to generate more meaningful statistics about the workings of the rapidly changing labour market and the interplay between the supply of skilled manpower and the competencies required by employers. It makes the case that the new knowledge economy with its much faster labour turnover requires workers with mathematical and statistical literacy. It emphasizes the importance of statistical teaching in the educational system and argues that the teaching of statistics should focus less on statistical theory and formula and more on using statistics to describe and explain the world around us. It discusses some international assessments of mathematical literacy and gives examples of how statistics can help to illuminate everyday issues including the working of the labour market and its links with the educational system.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education