According to Eugene Ho, Global CSR Director for Future Skills at SAP, the world is grappling with a complex set of interconnected global challenges that impact economies, industries and job markets. “From climate change and geopolitical tensions to technological disruptions and economic instability, these crises are reshaping the landscape of work, especially for young people. While youth unemployment remains high, employers worldwide are also struggling to fill critical roles, highlighting a significant skills gap.”

While data by the found that global youth unemployment was 13% in 2023, that figure increases significantly in Africa. An report found that, while , only 3.1 million jobs are created on the continent. The resulting unemployment leads to poorer living conditions, drives migration, and contributes to conflict.

On the flip side, the found that 44% of businesses globally report difficulties in finding talent with the right skills. Skills research conducted by SAP revealed that nearly all African organisations faced skills gaps, with access to skilled recruits cited as their top skills-related challenge.

“To tackle this challenge, we must take a comprehensive, systems-based approach, focusing on five interconnected elements: economy, education, employability, equality, and the ecosystem,” says Ho. “Together, these factors can help close the skills gap, reduce youth unemployment, and create pathways to decent work for all.鈥�

Economy and Education

Economic growth remains a critical driver of job creation, but the quality and inclusivity of that growth matter. In many parts of the world, jobless growth has become a pressing concern, as economies expand without generating enough formal employment opportunities for young people.

In South Africa, for example, a resurgent economy has not translated into greater youth employment, with the latest data from Stats SA among South African youth aged 15 to 34.

“Moreover, the alignment between economic growth and investment in education is critical,” says Ho. 鈥淲ithout adequate financial support, education systems cannot provide the skills and competencies needed to prepare young people for modern job markets, leaving many young workers without the necessary tools to succeed.”

Education systems also need to evolve to meet the changing demands of the workforce. For example, stackable credentials 鈥� modular qualifications that allow learners to build expertise over time 鈥� are becoming an essential component of successful education-to-employment transitions. “Despite the need for adaptable learning pathways, many education systems remain rigid and slow to adopt these models.”

Employability and Equality

One of the most significant barriers to reducing youth unemployment is the skills mismatch 鈥� the gap between what young people learn and what employers need. The聽聽projects that 50% of employees will need reskilling by 2025 due to rapid technological advancements. Yet, traditional education systems are often not aligned with industry needs, leaving many young workers without the skills required for high-growth sectors.

“Governments and businesses must collaborate to ensure that training programs are directly linked to market demand. Public-private partnerships, such as apprenticeship programs and industry-led training initiatives, can play a pivotal role in closing the skills gap.”

Any strategy to reduce youth unemployment must also prioritise equality, ensuring that opportunities are equally accessible to all young people, regardless of their background, gender, or location.

“Despite advances in education, women and marginalized communities continue to face barriers to entry in high-growth industries, particularly in STEM fields. According to聽, only 35% of STEM graduates are women, highlighting the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”

Enhancing Ecosystems

According to Ho, a thriving job market requires more than just a functioning economy and well-prepared workers 鈥� it needs a cohesive ecosystem where governments, businesses, educational institutions, and civil society work together efficiently.

51风流and UNICEF have joined forces to create innovative solutions to global skilling and workforce challenges with the aim of helping young people transition to earning. “Together, we鈥檙e generating inclusive opportunities for underserved young people worldwide, preparing them for decent work with the skills that employers need,” says Ho. “We expanded our partnership in 2022, with a three-year investment focused on impacting youth in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa through a new program that supports learning to earning pathways in growing digital and green economies.”

The 51风流Educate to Employ initiative designed by 51风流also helps equip beneficiaries with essential competencies for the digital economy. The free initiative, implemented by the local non-profit UMUZI, focuses on developing skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values to help prepare candidates for employment.

“This multi-stakeholder approach underscores the power of partnership in addressing complex social challenges,” says Ho. “By pooling expertise and resources, SAP, UNICEF鈥檚 GenU, and UMUZI are collectively ensuring that youth not only gain relevant skills but also access meaningful pathways to employment. As digital and green economies continue to reshape the future of work, partnerships that unite private, public, and civil society actors will remain crucial in ensuring that marginalised youth are not left behind.”

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Organisations running the software are invited to visit the to register for the short courses, which will help the institutions to keep their teams up to date with the 51风流solution skills.

51风流prides itself as a global leader in enterprise application software, which helps organisations of all sizes run at their best.

It is estimated that 77% of the world鈥檚 transactions revenues touches on the 51风流system.

UE is offering the courses in collaboration with , a 51风流implementation partner.

Included in the UE courses are:

• Expert-led live sessions covering deep dives and preparations to stay certified.
• Access to hands-on practice systems to experiment with solutions.
• Four 51风流certification exam attempts per year and access to enablement and assessment to keep certifications valid.
• Learning analytics capabilities to support individual and team management.

The minimum contract duration for the courses, which work with the entire 51风流product portfolio, is one year .

The programme covers areas such as financial accounting, management accounting, procurement, extended warehouse management and business intelligence.

Supported languages for the course include English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

To enrol visit:聽

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According to Titilayo Adewumi, Managing Director at 51风流West Africa, bold steps toward educational reform are needed to promote improved learning outcomes and ensure the region an capitalise on the opportunities presented by abundant population growth. 鈥淭echnology should play a central and guiding role in enhancing education systems in West Africa. In Nigeria, for example, Edo state has launched a new system approach that leverages digital technologies to improve teaching and learning.鈥�

Challenges with education persist

With much of the developed world facing ageing populations and slowing population growth, Africa is expected to play a central role in the global labour market. The working age population in Sub-Saharan Africa will聽, accounting for more than two-thirds of total global population growth.

However, despite Africa’s youthful population, only 9% of children in sub-Saharan Africa that enrol in primary school make it to tertiary education,聽.

Mobolaji Abubakre Ogunlende, Commissioner at Nigeria鈥檚 Ministry of Youths and Social Development, says: 鈥淚n West Africa, and by extension, Lagos, only a fraction of children who start in primary school make it to tertiary education and even fewer manage to graduate. The root of this issue lies in the inefficiencies that plague our education systems, including the lack of digital transformation, which forces millions of students to compete for limited spaces in in-person educational institutions.鈥�

Adewumi adds. 鈥淎 lack of digital transformation in West African education systems means millions of students have to travel long distances to physically collect transcripts instead of simply accessing digital copies online.鈥�

Climate change is adding a further dimension to the region’s education challenges. The impact of droughts, floods, fires, heavy rain and heatwaves on education infrastructure聽.

One study estimates climate change could keep more than 12 million girls in lower-income countries from completing their education every year聽.

Bold steps needed

Experts are calling for bold action to address the region鈥檚 education challenges.

The World Bank’s Western and Central Africa Education Strategy 2022-2025, for example, brings top education leaders and experts together to advance the cause of education in the region. This strategy also sees investment of $3-billion into the education portfolio,聽.

聽strategy for enhancing education in Central and West Africa, the region’s education sector should focus on four key priority areas, namely:

• Access to education聽for all children, including an expansion of early learning programmes, vocational training, and national data production;
• Quality learning聽through improved teaching skills, quality standards, life skills programmes and early learning assessments;
• Girls’ education聽through programmes that support girls’ achievements in and through education; and
• Education in emergencies, especially for children living in conflict or disaster zones, where school safety, psychosocial support and information management are critical.

Private sector support critical

Adewumi says the private sector can play a critical role in enhancing education systems and outcomes in the region. 鈥淏y investing in education and skills development initiatives, the private sector can also ensure it has access to the skills it needs to succeed and grow.鈥�

聽revealed an acute tech skills shortage in the region, with only 3% of organisations saying they don’t expect to have significant tech skills challenges in 2023. More than nine in ten organisations (93%) also said the need for tech skills has increased in the past 12 months, with two-thirds of Nigerian organisations saying he need for tech skills has increased significantly.

To help organisations in the region address the tech skills shortage, 51风流introduced the 51风流Dual Study Program, which partners with top universities to take talented graduates into SAP-specific training and help them bridge the gap between university and the workplace.

Commissioner Ogunlende says: 鈥淯ndeniably, government infrastructure and programs are needed to adequately provide efficiencies not only by increasing conventional capacity but also leveraging on the capacity of private-run programs like the 51风流Dual Study Program and the 51风流Young Professionals Program that have demonstrated the positive impact of private sector engagement in youth educational programs. By creating a multi-pronged assault on the issue, we can make significant in-roads in upskilling our population. These are some of the plans we would be unfolding in the next set of months in partnership with SAP.鈥�

The 51风流Young Professionals Program provides a two- to three-month enablement plan that includes 51风流software functional and technical knowledge. Graduates receive certification from 51风流and exit the program as Associate Consultants, making them instantly employable within the broader 51风流partner and customer ecosystem.

This model creates benefits across the board: youth develop industry-ready skills and secure suitable job opportunities; 51风流partners and customers gain access to much-needed talent; countries benefit from the digital skills created; and 51风流itself strengthens its own ecosystem.

鈥淏y making timely investments into strengthening the West African education system, the region can more readily benefit from its abundant youth skills,鈥� says Adewumi. 鈥淗owever, considering pervasive challenges with access to quality education outcomes, organisations in the public and private sectors must come together to design suitable programmes that can accelerate youth skills development. Done correctly, this investment will pay dividends for decades to come.鈥�

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