With the in-depth development of the digital economy, the Certified Data Analyst (CDA) Digital Talent Certification System achieved comprehensive breakthroughs in 2025. Ranging from the intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing to the digital upgrading of financial institutions, from the innovation of talent training models in universities to the best-selling performance of professional textbooks, the CDA is providing solid talent support for the digital transformation of various industries through standardized competency standards and systematic training programs, thus building a comprehensive ecosystem for digital competency development covering the whole society.

I. In-depth Enterprise Training: Building Core Competencies for Digital Transformation

In 2025, the CDA Certification System launched systematic training programs in key industries such as manufacturing and finance, helping enterprises build digital teams equipped with data thinking and practical capabilities.

In the manufacturing sector, Asia's largest single printing factory successfully held the CDA Level 1 Certification Exam on October 17, marking the in-depth penetration of data analysis competency development into traditional manufacturing. This certification will significantly enhance the enterprise's data application capabilities in intelligent production, process optimization and other links, injecting new momentum into the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

Training in the financial sector has demonstrated systematic and large-scale characteristics. On February 19, the CDA organized a workshop on the construction of a digital competency training and certification system for the head office of a joint-stock commercial bank. Management personnel, technical experts and business backbones from the head office and branch offices conducted in-depth discussions around three core modules: data application, data generation and data management, forming an integrated "teaching, learning and practicing" training and certification system.

In May, the CDA carried out a full-staff digital empowerment training for the Southwest Branch of a commercial bank, covering more than 500 employees and achieving comprehensive competency improvement from frontline business to back-office management. In the same period, the CDA completed a special training on data analysis for digital talents for the Beijing Branch of a commercial bank, focusing on improving the digital thinking and data analysis capabilities of the participants.

In the bulk commodity trading sector, Dalian Commodity Exchange and the CDA Institute of Data Science carried out in-depth cooperation for the second consecutive year. The series of training programs focused on core modules such as data standards, quality control and value mining, helping the exchange consolidate its data infrastructure and enhance its ability of data-driven decision-making.

In April, the CDA Institute of Data Science successfully organized a systematic training program on digital talents for a rural commercial bank in Jiangsu Province. The training gathered business backbones from the bank's Operation Management Department, Microfinance Department, Statistical Analysis Department, Corporate Finance Department and various branches, achieving full coverage of core departments in the front, middle and back offices.

II. Financial Institution Certification: CDA Becomes the Standard for Talent Evaluation

In 2025, a number of financial institutions incorporated the CDA certification into their talent evaluation systems, reflecting the widespread recognition of this certification in the financial industry.

On September 21, a rural commercial bank in Jiangsu Province held the CDA Level 1 Certification Exam for the second consecutive year. The total number of certified employees in the bank exceeded 150, indicating that a digital talent echelon has taken initial shape. This is an important achievement of the bank's systematic promotion of digital talent development, laying a solid talent foundation for further advancing digital transformation and deploying smart finance.

Other local banks are also actively promoting the CDA certification. The newly updated CDA curriculum system adopted this time has been widely praised by banking clients for its stronger practicality and systematicness.

On August 18, a bank in Nanjing successfully held the CDA Level 1 Certification Exam, with nearly 40 employees participating in the professional competency assessment. In late September, a bank in Zhangjiagang successfully held the CDA Level 1 Data Certification Exam, with more than 30 business backbones taking part, marking a key step for the bank in its digital transformation.

In the communication industry, on September 1, China Mobile Group Guangxi Co., Ltd. carefully organized business backbones from various departments to participate in the CDA Level 1 Data Analyst Certification Exam. The participants came from multiple core departments including network operation and maintenance, market operation and customer service, reflecting the forward-looking layout of communication enterprises in digital talent training.

III. Integration with University Education: Innovating Digital Talent Training Models

CDA certification courses are being implemented in various forms in many universities across the country, promoting the innovation and practice of talent training models.

On October 18, the School of Business of Hunan Institute of Technology organized more than 100 students from the Big Data Management and Application major to complete the CDA Level 1 Certification Exam at the on-campus examination center. The successful holding of this exam marks a solid step forward for the university in aligning the training of applied data talents with industry standards.

In May, Southwest University of Political Science & Law incorporated the CDA Data Analyst Certification Course into its credit system, launching a one-semester elective course worth 2 credits. This is the first implementation of the CDA Certification System in a political science and law university, aiming to cultivate compound talents who are proficient in both legal expertise and data analysis capabilities to meet the needs of emerging fields such as "smart justice".

Fuzhou University achieved a high pass rate of 84% in the CDA Digital Talent Certification Exam held in mid-March, far exceeding the national average level. This achievement benefits from systematic teaching organization and the students' solid professional foundation, reflecting the advantages of universities in training applied talents.

On March 15, nearly 30 students from China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) completed the study and examination of CDA Level 1 Data Analyst. The content covers eight major knowledge modules including an overview of data analysis and professional ethics, data structure and database application, comprehensively testing the students' theoretical foundation and practical capabilities.

IV. Knowledge System Construction: "CDA Business Data Analysis (4th Edition)" Gains High Market Recognition

As an important part of the CDA Certification System, the textbook CDA Business Data Analysis (4th Edition) recently ranked high on JD Books' bestseller list, reflecting the urgent social demand for high-quality digital education resources.

To meet the competency requirements of digital talents in the new era, the CDA Certification System completed a comprehensive update of its examination syllabus in July 2025. Breaking away from the traditional teaching approach of "tools first, business later", the new syllabus emphasizes starting from practical problems to cultivate learners' data thinking and business insight capabilities. It also adds cutting-edge content such as AI technology application and data-driven decision-making to ensure that the certification system keeps pace with industry development.

The supporting textbook CDA Business Data Analysis (4th Edition), as a designated book for the CDA Certification, helps learners establish a systematic data analysis thinking framework through a large number of real cases and practical exercises. Focusing on the in-depth integration of business scenarios and data analysis, the textbook enables learners to not only master technical operations but also use data to solve practical business problems.

The CDA Certification System has built a complete training framework from basic to advanced levels: Level 1 certification focuses on basic business analysis capabilities, Level 2 certification delves into customer operation and strategy optimization, and Level 3 certification emphasizes data mining and machine learning operation. This hierarchical design not only meets the needs of learners at different levels but also provides clear standards for enterprises to select digital talents.

Future Outlook: Building a New Ecosystem for Digital Talent Training

Industry experts said that the rapid development of the CDA Certification System in 2025 reflects the urgent demand for digital talents in various industries. From the intelligent transformation of manufacturing to the digital upgrading of finance, from the integration of industry and education in universities to the knowledge dissemination through professional textbooks, the training of digital talents is forming an all-industry and multi-level development pattern.

In the future, with the rapid development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the training of data analysis talents will focus more on in-depth integration with practical scenarios. The CDA Certification System will continuously optimize course content, strengthen the construction of teaching staff, improve evaluation standards, provide stronger talent support for the high-quality development of the digital economy, and help build a digital China to a new level.