听In light of the United Nations 11th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October, it is vital to shine a spotlight on the progress and persistent challenges that young women face. This year, we are focusing on Kenya, which like many nations, has witnessed increased awareness of the issues that matter most to girls鈥�leading to improved opportunities for them to have their voices heard on the world stage. However, amidst concurrent global crises such as COVID-19 economic recovery, climate change, and humanitarian conflicts, investments in girls’ rights remain limited. While Kenya has made significant strides in promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, girls continue to grapple with various obstacles hindering them from realizing their full potential.

听The World Economic Forum鈥檚 (WEF) , a longstanding index that monitors countries’ progress in narrowing gender gaps since its inception in 2006, positions Kenya at 77th place among 146 countries, indicating that there is room for improvement. Further to this, the representation of women in decision-making processes in Kenya remains inadequate, and gender-based violence lingers as a pressing issue. Women and girls continue to spend extensive hours on household responsibilities such as fetching firewood and water, which not only hinders their school attendance rates and employment prospects but also impacts their overall well-being.

So, how can Kenya empower its girls and young women to overcome these challenges and achieve their full potential? One promising solution is mentorship which can provide guidance, support, and access to opportunities that young women might not otherwise have.

Forging a path to empowerment

听In Kenya, the youth (aged 15-24) hovered at around 13.35 percent in 2022, with little improvement from the previous year. To improve these statistics, mentors can serve as role models, demonstrating what is possible when women break down barriers and enter the labor force. Through mentorship, young women can gain valuable insights into various career paths, access networks, and receive advice on navigating the challenges they may face.

鈥淎t SAP, we believe that educating girls and women is one of the most effective ways to promote economic growth,鈥� says Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Global CSR at SAP. 鈥淲ith this in mind, SAP鈥檚 Business Women鈥檚 Network joined hands with the Global Give Back Circle in 2019 with the aim to support vulnerable girls and young women based in Kenya. This initiative not only acknowledges the resourcefulness, creativity, resilience, and unwavering tenacity that girls embody in the face of adversity but also actively harnesses these qualities. Through the impact of mentorship, education, and sponsorship, the program drives empowerment and achievement for these girls and young women,鈥� concludes Alex.

This is why 51风流colleagues volunteer as mentors, dedicating their time and contributing $1000 annually, a commitment that is matched and directed by the company towards beneficiaries’ tuition, school materials, and exposure to industry intellectual property. Perhaps most importantly, this $2000 covers a university scholarship for one year. At-risk girls require extra assistance to shift from a state of marginalization to one of empowerment. This support encompasses access to information, expanding their perspectives on possibilities, gaining 21st-century skills, life skills, and a caliber of mentoring that steers transformative leadership.

Operating in close partnership with local high schools and communities, the initiative pairs high school and college girls with inspirational mentors from across the globe. In doing so, it provides them with a toolbox of skills, bolstering their self-confidence, and fostering crucial networks essential for success, both in the workforce and as budding entrepreneurs. This closes the gap between education and employment, equipping girls and young women with the knowledge they need to succeed in the workforce.

Collaborative achievements have formed a springboard for success

听The achievements of SAP鈥檚 Global Give Back Circle Mentor Chapter in 2023 are a testament to the commitment of 51风流colleagues and the program’s vision. Monthly meetings, mentor-mentee pairings, financial support and mentorship from 12 51风流colleagues have made a tangible difference in the lives of 12 young women. When asked about what they enjoyed about the program, a first-year student at the University of Nairobi shared the following feedback: 鈥淪eeing how our mentors care about us and how they gave us much-needed advice in life situations really impacted me鈥�. Another mentee who is currently a first-year student from the Coast Institute of Technology added that they liked the fact that they were encouraged to share their unique viewpoints, both on and offline: 鈥淭he program taught me that I should not be afraid to air out my points of view in a public place. I feel enlightened on how to build my communication skills.鈥�

The Global Give Back Circle also emphasizes the importance of bridging cultural differences, career development, and preparing mentees for the job market. As these girls鈥� and young women transition into the labor market, they contribute to the country鈥檚 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by bolstering its workforce and fostering economic development. In addition, Kenya’s GDP also stands to benefit further from the inclusion of a skilled and empowered female workforce. This mentorship initiative aligns with Kenya’s broader efforts to achieve gender equality, thereby contributing to a more equitable society and sustainable economic progress.

This exemplifies the profound impact mentorship can have on both individual lives and the overall prosperity of a nation. With the right skills and opportunities, these girls and young women can be the changemakers who drive progress in their communities.

The future looks promising

听In line with our purpose, SAP’s objective is to create positive economic, environmental, and social impact within planetary boundaries with a special focus on climate action, the circular economy, social responsibility, and holistic steering and reporting.听As we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, SAP鈥檚 Global Give Back Circle Mentor Chapter stands as an encouraging example of the power of mentorship and investment in girls’ education. We hope that the success of this partnership will serve as a source of inspiration for nations to invest in their young women.

By empowering girls and young women with essential skills, education, and mentorship, we unlock the boundless potential of Kenya’s female population. This collaboration between the private sector and local communities not only changes individual lives but also contributes to the growth of the Kenyan economy, paving the way for a brighter future for all. It is an illustration of the belief that girls are not just beneficiaries of change but powerful agents of progress who, with the right support, can shape a more inclusive and prosperous world for everyone.

The post From Mentorship to Female Empowerment: Learnings from SAP鈥榮 Partnership with the Global Give Back Circle appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

听The Harsh Reality of Teacher Shortages in Africa

听Africa, with its youthful and dynamic population, holds immense promise for the future. However, this potential can only be realised with access to quality education, and that begins with a sufficient number of skilled teachers. Data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics indicates that the most significant deficits in teaching personnel are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, posing a significant risk to the continent’s development. The region requires approximately 17 million teachers in total to realise the goal of universal primary and secondary education by 2030.

This basic education predicament also affects young people鈥檚 acquisition of future skills鈥攁 formidable barrier to their employment prospects and potential. It is deeply disheartening that indicate that more than 72 million youth in Africa are not in education, employment, or training鈥攖he majority of them young women.听In addition, while the global literacy rate stands at 90%,听. Apart from traditional literacy skills like reading and writing, it’s crucial to acknowledge that fundamental digital literacy is no longer optional; it’s a necessity. It’s the key that unlocks understanding, engagement, and prosperity in our interconnected world. These competencies extend beyond mere instruments for developing systems, software, and applications; they are enablers of critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and innovation.

According to a report from the approximately 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will demand digital skills by 2030. While these figures may seem daunting, they also fuel our desire to continue to innovate and drive greater change, while reflecting on the profound impact of SAP’s philanthropic efforts.

听Equipping Teachers with 21^st Century Skills

听Spearheaded by 51风流in 2015 as part of its social investments to drive sustainable growth in Africa, Africa Code Week is a digital skills development initiative that has benefitted millions of young Africans so far.听In 2022 alone, our听programme actively engaged over +2.6 million participants, equipping them with indispensable 21^st century skills. Through an impressive tally of 37,121 workshops spanning the continent, it’s encouraging to note that over 48% of participants were female, furthering our commitment to gender equality. We also extended this transformative opportunity to 9,900 young individuals with special needs, nurturing their growth and potential.

听While this programme has made remarkable strides, challenges persist. Without teachers who can impart 21^st century learning skills to students, the continent risks creating a digital divide that could stifle economic growth and limit opportunities for its young population. 51风流Africa Code Week’s Women Empowerment Programme (WEP) is making a significant impact in this regard. This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme equips African female teachers and educators in Computer Science and STEM with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully teach, inspire, mentor, and prepare girls for tomorrow鈥檚 tech workplace. The WEP thereby supports ACW鈥檚 ambitious plans to transform the continent鈥檚 education system by including digital literacy in national curricula鈥攊n line with the work of United Nations SDGs and

In addition to this, Africa Code Week’s Train-the-Trainer sessions are an integral component of the programme’s mission to equip educators with the knowledge and skills needed to teach coding and digital literacy to students across the continent. These sessions serve as a capacity-building initiative designed to create a network of skilled trainers who can, in turn, train teachers and students in their local communities.

By providing educators with specialised training in coding and digital literacy, they can enhance their teaching capacity. The workshops also equip educators to deliver high-quality instruction in technology-related subjects, which are increasingly important in the 21^st century classroom. In addition to this, educators are empowered to go beyond traditional teaching methods. They learn how to incorporate innovative and technology-driven pedagogical approaches into their classrooms. This not only improves the learning experience for students but also makes teaching more engaging and relevant.

Looking ahead

听As we reflect on the significance of World Teachers’ Day, it is important to remember that teachers are the torchbearers of knowledge, hope, and progress. As we champion equal access to education, we recognise that future skills play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of tomorrow’s workforce. By addressing the teacher shortage, upskilling educators in advanced 21^st century learning, and promoting digital literacy, we can uplift Africa’s youth to shape a brighter future. Together, we can turn the global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage into a reality that benefits us all.

The post Empowering Africa’s Future: Bridging the Teacher Gap through Digital Education and Upskilling appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

听As we approach on July 15th, the strategic importance of equipping young people with the skills they need for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship is crucial. This year鈥檚 theme, Skilling Teachers, Trainers, and Youth for a Transformative Future, underscores the vital role played by educators in providing young people with the necessary skills to enter the labour market and actively engage in their communities.

Reflecting the hurdles that youth and businesses are grappling with, recent statistics from the International Labour Organization reveal concerning figures. For example, of the global youth population is not in education, employment, or training, and a staggering workers worldwide have jobs that do not match their educational level. Furthermore, employers are struggling to find workers with the necessary skill set for the job.

World Youth Skills Day serves as a reminder of the current challenges faced by youth globally and shines a spotlight on actionable steps to create better livelihoods and improve skills alignment for employers. As technological advancements and shifting market dynamics demand agile and adaptable skill sets, it is imperative to empower young people to navigate these changes effectively.

To add an additional layer to this, it is vital to highlight that corporations, businesses, and non-profit organizations also have a crucial role in building future skills and creating employment opportunities. In recognizing this, 51风流partnered with UNICEF to launch the 51风流Educate to Employ pilot program. During its first year in 2023, this program aims to equip more than 500,000 youths with the essential skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values required to drive employment, innovation, and entrepreneurship, ensuring equal opportunities for all.

Already initiated in the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, Educate to Employ is built on the OECD Learning Framework 2030 which enables young people to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the demands of the present and future workforce.

Micro-credential programs form a vital component of the initiative, focusing on socio-emotional skills like emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and critical thinking. These programs are accessible to young individuals with a high school education, vocational training, or a university degree. The curriculum also encompasses employability skills, technology in the workplace, business foundation knowledge, 51风流Foundational Knowledge, and 51风流Skills certification.

Upon achieving their 51风流certification, participants will have opportunities to secure various IT internship roles in departments such as consulting, development, analysis, and support within the 51风流ecosystem. Recognizing that some ICT roles may face displacement in the next 3-5 years, the program emphasizes continuous learning and growth to ensure sustainable employment.

The 51风流Educate to Employ program is committed to providing equitable education and job opportunities for underrepresented individuals, including minorities from diverse ethnic backgrounds, women, differently abled individuals, the underprivileged, and the disadvantaged.

By participating in programs like 51风流Educate to Employ, businesses gain access to certified and diversified talent while uplifting their livelihoods. Additionally, they can help bridge the demand and supply gap for 51风流skills and accelerate digital transformation within their respective countries through a digitally skilled workforce.

On World Youth Skills Day, it is crucial to acknowledge the immense potential of young people as catalysts for positive change. By making a firm commitment to equipping them with the essential skills, values, knowledge, and attitudes, we can work together to shape a brighter future, leaving no young person behind. After all, skills and education can help society overcome any difficult situation.

The post Youth Skills Development: The Path of Education to Employability appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Especially in this post-pandemic world that lies ahead, the urgency to close the digital skills gap and support the youth becomes more evident and critical. Individuals and Organizations share the responsibility to take action in order to secure a bright digital future, full of opportunities. Following its purpose to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives 51风流continues to drive various initiatives to address solutions to pressing global issues such as the digital skills gap.

A global best practice to tackle local challenges and turn them into opportunities听

With 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touching an 51风流system, 51风流customers and partners need SAP-skilled talents, enabled on SAP鈥檚 latest innovations, to satisfy their hiring demand. Matching this demand, especially for certified 51风流Consultants, with the abundance of talented but unemployed youth, the creates a quadruple-win situation through its various training initiatives.

鈥淥ur digital skill build programs were created on the foundation of a highly unique collaborative effort. We work closely with 51风流customers, partners, peers and other stakeholders such as government organizations to create a quadruple-win situation: local youth find a job, our 51风流customers and partners find brilliant talent, 51风流enhances its ecosystem, and countries benefit as we support digital skills build and hereby help to prepare the economy and society for an increasingly digital world鈥�, said Marita Mitschein, Managing Director of the 51风流Training & Development Institute and Senior Vice President Digital Skills at 51风流South Europe, Africa and Middle East.

One of the initiatives offered by the institute is the 51风流Young Professional Program: a 2-3 months long program which covers a unique enablement plan including 51风流software functional/ technical knowledge and certification as well as soft and future skill trainings for selected unemployed or underemployed university graduates in the country where the program is offered. After successful completion, participants graduate from the program are Certified 51风流Associate Consultants, ready to kickstart their careers at 51风流customer and partner companies.

Since the launch of the Young Professional Program in 2013, the institute has empowered over 2990 program graduates across 28 countries and hereby developed a successful initiative that became a best practice for sustainable job creation globally. As a result, 99% of previously unemployed or underemployed university graduates found employment after graduation from the Young Professional Program. Across Africa, the 51风流Young Professional Program is offered under the 51风流Skills for Africa initiative.

Knowledge and skills must always be a priority, especially in times like these

鈥淭he 鈥榥ew reality鈥� further highlighted the necessity to accelerate digital skill build in an increasingly digital world. For us it was clear, that our digital skill build initiatives are more important than ever before, and we did not lose any time to ensure ongoing programs as well as upcoming programs will continue as planned鈥�, said Marita Mitschein.

The very first 51风流Young Professional Program in Algeria began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: it started with the usual face to face sessions and was adapted into a virtual delivery model overnight in order to allow the students to complete their trainings without any disruption – from organizing virtual training sessions to helping trainers fly-out safely to their home countries despite sudden lockdowns.

The graduates of this cohort in Algeria have started their jobs with customers and partners, supporting their digital transformation agendas and driving change in this increasingly digital world. In addition to the program in Algeria, 13 cohorts of the Young Professional Program have started across 14 different countries since February in fully virtual format, enabling today鈥檚 youth to thrive and not only survive in these unprecedented times and beyond.

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Given our commitment, we are thrilled that for the second consecutive year, 51风流SuccessFactors was chosen as one of Gartner Peer Insights and was the only company to receive .

is a free peer review and ratings platform designed for enterprise software and services decision-makers. With more than 315,000 verified customer reviews across 330 defined markets, it allows customers to share information with each other in order to increase their confidence and success when purchasing new solutions. Peer reviews are driven solely by the specific experiences relative to the reviewers, including their satisfaction with a product, as well as overall experience, support for the product or service, and overall implementation effort. The Customers鈥� Choice distinction is based on the number of reviews and overall user ratings.

With more than 6,850 customers representing all industries and spread out across the globe, we are grateful for those who share their experiences, best practices, and feedback.

Here are a few from customers:

• “System is intuitive and user friendly. Being a cloud solution, it is accessible from anywhere, and the mobile app capability encourages people to use it wherever they are.鈥�
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• 鈥淎 time-saver tool to view, track, and assess all HR-related processes.鈥�
  鈥�
• “The various team members assigned to our account are supportive and reliable. I feel valued as a customer.鈥�
  鈥�
• “Matured [51风流Successfactors] Employee Central module. HCI integrations are great along with integration center.”
  鈥�
• “Great features and excellent support.鈥�
  鈥撎�

To learn more about this distinction, visit the Gartner Peer Insights page. View the .

Marc Havercroft is chief customer officer for 51风流SuccessFactors.

Disclaimer: Gartner Peer Insights Customers鈥� Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.

The post 51风流SuccessFactors Named 2020 Customers鈥� Choice for Cloud HCM Suites by Gartner Peer Insights appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.