During the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, global digital transformation enabler SAP announced it will build skills and knowledge among young talents worth $100 million by 2022. The three-day program for the World Economic Forum which runs until today (May 21), is centered on public-private partnerships driving economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). By exchanging global best practices with World Economic Forum stakeholders, SAP said, its Dubai-based SAP Training and Development Institute has already developed skills and knowledge reflecting an "in-country value" of $110 million across the region. "Middle East organizations are increasingly reliant on advanced technical skills, but there is a major mismatch between the current level of talent and the skills needed by 2020. The World Economic Forum is a vital platform for showing how public-private partnerships can drive technology knowledge transfer to support youth job creation across the Middle East and transform lives and businesses," said Marita Mitschein, Managing Director of the SAP Training and Development Institute. Showing the potential, cloud, analytics, mobility, and social media skills are posting double or triple digital growth in the Middle East, according to recent Oxford Economics report "Workforce 2020". The unique training programs of the SAP Training and Development Institute present its participants with the opportunity to learn and get certified on cutting edge enterprise applications and benefit from ‘soft skill' workshops such as Design Thinking through a blended learning approach, giving them a substantial advantage over the market competition. Its flagship initiative, SAP's Young Professional Program, is a two to three-month bootcamp designed to prepare local youths for their future careers. More than 1,075 participants across 12 countries have graduated from the program as SAP Associate Consultants, of whom 98 percent have subsequently been placed with SAP's customers and partners. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, SAP Training and Development Institute has written plenty of success stories and helped young Saudi nationals to kick-start their careers. "Graduating from the program opened many opportunities for me to enter the market and I was able to build my own brand and distinguish myself from the other candidates. What is better than to invest in the new generation to raise their country into a better place?" said Haitham Abduljabbar, who now works as a Functional Analyst at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare. Not only does the institute train and enable the most talented local minds, it also supports them to enter the corporate workforce or establish their own companies. In Palestine, nine Young Professional Program graduates have become a vital asset for local SAP partner Synergy. After finishing their three-month training program, they successfully implemented SAP Business One, a business management software solution, at Al-Jebrini Group, empowering it to manage its activities using a single digital application. Enabling universities to transform their curriculums to meet the needs of the Digital Economy, SAP's Dual Study program is currently offered at 11 selected universities across MENA. The program gives students the opportunity to undertake major-specific SAP training and certification alongside their academic studies. "SAP's Young Professional Program is not an education for professional life exposure only. It's indeed an experience of a life time that supports every aspect of career, family, and personal development and growth," said Rayah AlDhanani, a UAE national who graduated from the program in 2016 and now works for Etihad Airways. Taking Middle East best practices global, the SAP Training and Development Institute has launched its Young Professional Program in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Spain. Tackling youth unemployment is a global challenge. This knowledge transfer inspires organizations across the world to find solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our time. — SG
