Global digital transformation enabler SAP said it plans to invest $100 million into innovative training programmes for building skills and knowledge among youth in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region by 2022.

The announcement was made at the 'World Economic Forum on Mena' being held at Dead Sea in Jordan. It is centered on public-private partnerships driving economic growth in the region.

By exchanging global best practices with WEF stakeholders, SAP said, its Dubai-based 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," remarked Marita Mitschein, the managing director of the SAP Training and Development Institute.

"The WEF 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 Mitschein.

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, stated Mitschein.

Its flagship initiative, SAP’s Young Professional Program, is a two to three-month bootcamp designed to prepare local youths for their future careers, she said.

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 the company’s customers and partners, she added.

“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 Al Dhanani, an Emirati national who graduated from the program in 2016 and now works for Etihad Airways.

In Saudi Arabia, SAP's 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," stated Haitham Abduljabbar, who now works as a Functional Analyst at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare.

"What is better than to invest in the new generation to raise their country into a better place?” asked 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, said Mitschein.
 
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, she added.-TradeArabia News Service