SAP Skills for Africa launched its 2018 South Africa programme this week, with four new partners and a refined focus on cloud-based digital skills.
Now in its seventh chapter, the job creation initiative was launched in 2015 to alleviate Africa's unemployment crisis by training and certifying young unemployed graduates in SAP's software suite of business systems and applications.
The South African leg of SAP Skills for Africa, according to the company, will train and develop 31 graduates who will be placed at eight SAP partners, including EOH, BMW, WestroconSeidor, Gijima, Deloitte, and Khusela Business Intelligence Technologies.
This is the first year that the programme will focus specifically on cloud-related skills, notes SAP.
Meena Confait, head of SAP Skills for Africa, says the programme has evolved into an indispensable resource of scarce digital skills.
"We have learned a tremendous amount about how to develop and train work-ready digital workers who can make an immediate impact in our customers' and partners' businesses. The extensive testing we conduct has also provided us with accurate insights into the key challenges our customers and partners face, leading to this year's decision to concentrate the South African programme's training on SAP Hybris and SAP SuccessFactors as the most in-demand SAP-related digital skills for 2018."
More than 600 graduates have completed SAP Skills for Africa's intense training programme since 2012, adding essential digital skills to organisations in SA, Morocco and Kenya, says the company.
Cathy Smith, MD: Africa at SAP Africa, says: "Accelerating economic prosperity and driving positive social impact are two of the cornerstones of our global business. This year's SAP Skills for Africa programme will contribute to our goal of helping every customer become a best-run business; equipping them with the tools they need to fuel innovation and transform their businesses for the digital age. We wish all of this year's candidates the best with their training and look forward to seeing the impact they make when they join our partner and customer businesses."
According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics SA, of the 10.3 million young South Africans aged 15 to 24 years, about 30% were not in employment, education or training. This equates to more than three million young people who cannot find work because they are regarded as too unskilled and inexperienced by prospective employers.
Eda Lombard, GM of IT: Shared Services Centre, South Africa at BMW Group South Africa, says: "As a business, BMW is heavily invested in SA, with production of the new BMW X3 just started in April at our Rosslyn production facility following a R6.1-billion investment. However, any modern business needs digital skills to remain competitive and enable continuous excellence and innovation. SAP Skills for Africa will provide us with essential digital skills that will improve our competitiveness and ensure we are able to maintain the highest quality standards."
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