If you completed a degree in Business Administration, Management Information Systems, or Engineering in 2024, this could be your next step towards a successful career.

Explore more and apply here:

The post Applications are Open for the 51风流Young Professionals Program South Africa 2025 appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

According to Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, the cooperation project has helped unlock the immense youth talent dividend in several African countries. 鈥淎frica is one of the world鈥檚 most exciting and dynamic continents, with vast unlocked potential for innovation, digital transformation and prosperity. However, without access to the correct skills, much of this potential will remain locked away from African enterprises and undermine our global competitiveness. This makes projects such as our collaboration with GIZ and our industry players so vital to the continent鈥檚 digital transformation ambitions.鈥�

The project is part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation and the develoPPP program that the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The aim was to jointly create jobs for highly-qualified personnel in the African IT sector over the course of three years, from 2019 to 2022. Participants came from 16 African countries: Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mali, Angola and Tanzania.

Three-year project produces huge talent dividend

Over the three-year period, a total of 621 young professionals graduated, of which more than 40% were women. 聽More than 530 graduates secured employment following the training. Participants were trained as 51风流Associate Consultants and were immediately employable within the 51风流partner and customer ecosystem.

Key highlights from the partnership include:

• Nearly all (98.6%) participants have successfully graduated from the programs
• A total of 537 jobs in the digital economy were created for African youth
• A total of 24 classes – or cohorts – were completed within the three-year timeframe.

Alp Geckalan, Head of the Digital Skills Center for EMEA South at SAP, says: “This collaboration shows how digital skills can change people’s lives and contribute to the digital transformation of countries and economies. We are thankful for the collaboration with GIZ and are proud to have been able to jointly create positive change in the lives and careers of so many talented young people.”

Graduates sing program鈥檚 praises

Since its launch in 2012, the 51风流Young Professionals Program has graduated more than 1 730 youths in Africa across 22 countries. This is nearly half of the total global graduates of the program, which is offered on the continent under the umbrella of 51风流Skills for Africa.

The 2-3 month program covers a unique enablement plan that includes 51风流software functional/technical knowledge and certification with key focus on SAP鈥檚 latest innovations as well as soft and future skills training. It targets bright graduates from universities 鈥� all of whom are unemployed or underemployed nationals of the country where the program is offered.

According to Adesola Akorede, a Nigerian graduate, the program has changed her professional and personal life. “I have been able to apply my new skills in my professional life with great results. By virtue of the program, I was able to gain employment with WYZE Consulting, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity.”

Mohamed Tahar Seddik Attia, a graduate from Algeria, says he cannot recommend the program highly enough. “This is more than just a program where you learn to use 51风流systems. It’s a place where you push your limits, discover new ways of thinking, learn essential skills in the business world and meet amazing people.”

For Ugandan graduate Lebson Nasasira, the program led to a chance at a dream job. “The program was pretty intensive and I had to learn completely new concepts that took me out of my comfort zone. However, thanks to the program, I now have a distinct advantage over my peers in terms of my knowledge, communication skills and hands-on experience with digital transformation.”

Smith adds that the development of Africa鈥檚 youthful talent pool ranks among the continent鈥檚 top priorities to ensure growth and prosperity throughout the 21^st century. 鈥淎s this hugely successful collaborative partnership has shown, public and private sector companies can combine forces to great effect to equip talented young graduates with the correct skills and make an immediate and sustained positive impact on Africa鈥檚 digital economy.鈥�

The post More than 530 Jobs created Through 51风流Collaboration to Power Africa’s Digital Economy appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

• Switch to all-virtual format opens access to more candidates across East Africa region
• Students from Uganda, Tanzania participate for first time
• Program prepares 27 university graduates to make immediate impact as 51风流Associate Consultants

After switching to a fully virtual delivery in light of COVID-19, opportunities were created for candidates from more countries to participate in the 51风流Young Professional Program across the African continent. The latest group of graduates from East Africa included candidates from Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as giving candidates in Uganda and Tanzania their first opportunity to receive 51风流training and certification as part of the program.

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, says the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across the continent, creating greater need for digital skills. “Organisations across the continent continue to adapt to a world reshaped by the pandemic, fast-tracking their digital transformation journeys in an effort to maintain business productivity and drive innovation. It is vital to us that our customers and partners have access to the depth of 51风流skills they need to thrive. This latest cohort of graduates will play an important role supporting organisations across the East African region.”

With renewed focus on regional and pan-African cooperation through initiatives such as the newly-launched Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the East Africa Community, African countries and their citizens have the opportunity to collaborate like never before.

By hosting all training in a multi-country, all-virtual environment, the 51风流Young Professional Program is playing a role by helping foster greater cross-cultural collaboration between candidates that would normally not have the opportunity to work together.

Eva Sang, a graduate hailing from Kenya, says: “The collaboration and sharing of ideas across boundaries not only enriched the learning experience, we gained valuable insights about each other鈥檚 countries and culture. It also enabled us to create strong professional and personal networks in the region, that would come in handy during international assignments.”

For Estifanos Alemseged, a graduate from Ethiopia, the Young Professional Program was an empowering experience. “Applying for the program was one of the best decisions I made in my life. It has given me a ticket to land and explore an outstanding career path. At this moment I’m confident and excited to contribute to the digital transformation of my country and region.”

Ugandan graduate Natasha Nkurunziza says the program helped her discover her capabilities. “I loved both聽 the Business Process Integration course and 51风流Activate Manager because it gave me an overview of what 51风流S/4 HANA entails and how to deliver projects with 51风流Best Practices, thus giving me a chance to figure out what I would like to major in from an informed point of view.”

Since its inception in 2012, the 51风流Young Professional Program, an initiative under 51风流Skills for Africa, has trained more than 3150 talents across 31 countries, including more than 1390 in Africa. 鈥淭he two- to three-month program covers 51风流software technical and functional knowledge and certification, with a key focus on the latest 51风流innovations. Soft and future skills trainings ensure graduates can make an immediate impact in the organisations they work for after graduation鈥�, explains Marita Mitschein, Managing Director of the 51风流Training and Development Institute and Senior Vice President Digital Skills at 51风流Southern Europe, Africa and Middle East, who launched the program in 2012.

The cohort in East Africa is part of a collaboration between 51风流and the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly-qualified personnel in the IT sector in ten African countries over the course of three years. The cooperation project is supported by the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, which operates under the brand Invest for Jobs, and the develoPPP.de program that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The next East Africa program is scheduled to start at the end of March. Recruiting is now open, and candidates from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda can apply by following the links below:

• Kenya:
• Ethiopia:
• Tanzania:
• Uganda:
• Rwanda:

The post 51风流Young Professional Program Helps Build More Collaborative Digital Workforce in East Africa appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

For the BMW Group in South Africa, the 51风流Young Professional Program is an essential source for onboarding talent with in-demand digital skills. The global programme which runs under the umbrella of 51风流Skills for Africa on the African continent, has allowed the BMW Group to play a crucial role in shaping South Africa鈥檚 ICT leaders of tomorrow. It is a collaboration that has produced long-term benefits for BMW, the talented young graduates that formed part of the programme, as well as the South African economy as a whole.

Hans Coertze,聽ZA Hub General Manager at BMW Group, says:聽鈥淲e can only achieve the required goals and targets of our dynamic company if we have passionate, humble and smart people.”

Local talent driving global innovation

The BMW Group officially opened its BMW 51风流Competence Hub in South Africa in 2014, only the third such hub after the US and India. Now known as the ZA Hub, the facility provides IT services to the BMW Group worldwide with a focus on 51风流applications.

Coertze adds: “I can gladly say that I was delighted by the quality of the young professionals that joined the ZA Hub. I am even more proud that we have young talent in South Africa who can support us and who we can assist to develop and function in an international business.鈥�

Since 2015, the ZA Hub at BMW Group has taken on board 22 graduates of the 51风流Young Professional Program, with the majority of them having built successful careers in the company.

Not only a training programme, but a life changing opportunity

Anele Mzongwana, who was part of the programme in 2015, says it has been a challenging but fun experience over the past four years working at BMW. 鈥淚 joined BMW straight after graduating from a 51风流Skills for Africa programme and have had nothing but good experiences with the company. One of my highlights was when I supported a technical go-live in Germany just a year after joining the company.鈥�

The 51风流Young Professional Program is a three-month training and development opportunity for university graduates that teaches technical and functional knowledge of key 51风流technologies. A part of the training involves the development of future and soft skills to ease the graduates鈥� integration into their new workplaces. Graduates of the programme are placed with 51风流customers or partners as 51风流Associate Consultants, with a focus on delivering value and making an immediate impact.

Keshika Naipaal, a programme graduate from 2018, says being selected to participate in the programme has not only provided her with skills to build her career, but has also given her lifelong friends and great memories. 鈥淚 am grateful for the amazing coordinators and mentors that provided us with guidance and support along the entire journey of the programme. This experience is one I will never forget.”

For Ntomboxolo Siganagana, being part of the 51风流Young Professional Program has been a life-changing opportunity. 鈥淲hen I joined BMW in 2018 I had no advanced business application programming (ABAP) skills at all and wasn鈥檛 familiar with the environment and culture at the company. With support from my manager, scrum master and two mentors, I was able to contribute as much as anyone in the team. It wasn鈥檛 easy, but with the support of my team I was encouraged to learn and make something of myself.鈥�

Kelebogile Phajane, a recent graduate who works in the Finance Tax Integration and Customs team, says the level of introspection that occurs during the training is immense. 鈥淭he programme taught me different skills and goals, including human and professional behaviour, advanced communication skills and design thinking. You cannot help but go to the depth of your strengths and weaknesses. I never thought I would work in an environment such as BMW, where your boss wants nothing but the best for you, an environment where your work ethic matters and where teamwork is a priority.鈥�

Closing the digital skills gap: a joint responsibility

鈥淥ur purpose statement ends with #WalalaWasala, which means 鈥榶ou snooze, you lose鈥�. I can clearly see that the candidates who joined us did not snooze, but instead grabbed the opportunity to become valuable team members at the ZA Hub,鈥� Coertze adds.

Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President: Digital Skills Southern Europe, Middle East & Africa at 51风流and Managing Director at the 51风流Training and Development Institute says the ongoing collaboration with the BMW Group is a best practice for how companies can jointly address the digital skills challenge while driving innovation. 鈥淥rganisations are relying on digital skills more than ever to innovate and deliver value. Over the past four years, BMW has built a powerful team of skilled 51风流experts graduating from the Young Professional Program that have made a positive and lasting contribution to the company鈥檚 innovation efforts. We will continue to work closely with our industry partners to ensure they have the work-ready digital skills they need to run at their best.”

The post BMW Group Accelerates Innovation Capability with Work-Ready 51风流Skills appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

鈥淚t was really important to us that we could complete our studies and use our newly-gained competencies to support companies as digital skills are becoming even more critical in an increasingly digital world,鈥� says Joseph Skabate, one of the latest group of graduates who is now placed with BMW. 鈥淭hankfully, the program moved to a virtual teaching model which allowed us to complete our training and graduate with work-ready skills that could immediately make a positive impact at the organisations we were placed in.鈥�

The 51风流Young Professional Program is a three-month training and development opportunity for university graduates that teaches technical and functional knowledge of key 51风流technologies and is offered under the 51风流Skills for Africa initiative across Africa. Young professionals graduate as 51风流Associate Consultants and, through close partnerships between 51风流and its customers and partners, are placed in roles where their skills can make an impact.

Marita Mitschein, Senior ice President Digital Skills Southern Europe, Middle East & Africa 51风流and Managing Director at the 51风流Training and Development Institute, says it was challenging to switch to a virtual learning model when the program traditionally involved face-to-face training sessions. 鈥淗owever, we didn鈥檛 lose any time to ensure ongoing programs as well as upcoming ones could continue as planned, albeit in a different format.鈥�

Mitschein says the initiatives under 51风流Skills for Africa are one of the main conduits of work-ready skills between 51风流and its customers and partners. 鈥淲ith companies relying on digital technologies more than ever for their productivity and business continuity, it was critical to us to ensure they have the depth of 51风流skills they need to operate successfully amid the disruption brought by the pandemic and afterwards.鈥�

According to data by the World Bank, more than 230 million jobs in Africa will require digital skills by 2030. The continent is also the world鈥檚 most youthful region, with more than 60% of sub-Saharan Africa鈥檚 population under the age of 25. With declining population growth in many developed countries, Africa鈥檚 youthful abundance is expected to play a key role in the 21st century digital economy.

鈥淚n light of the very different post-pandemic world that lies ahead, the urgency to close the digital skills gap and support youth skills development is more evident and critical than ever before,鈥� says Mitschein. 鈥淥rganisations share the responsibility to take action and secure a bright digital future bursting with possibility for all. 51风流continues to drive various initiatives to close the digital skills gap, in line with our purpose of helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives.”

Former graduate Rosette Simerone lauds the program鈥檚 effectiveness at instilling the technical and soft skills graduates will need to smoothly transition to the digital working world. After graduating from the University of Pretoria with a degree in Mathematical Statistics, she pursued a career in data analytics before receiving an offer to train with 51风流through the Young Professionals Program.

鈥淎fter successfully completing the program I secured an internship at MIT Auto Parts, focusing on supporting the company鈥檚 sales and distribution as well as data analytics capabilities. While I still have much to learn, the 51风流Young Professional Program as part of 51风流Skills for Africa has given me an incredible platform from which to build a successful career in the digital economy.鈥�

The 51风流Young Professional Program has become a global best practice that supports the immediate employability of young talents in technology through collaboration and partnerships. Since its launch in 2012, the program has trained and graduated more than 1170 youths across Africa and more than 2870 talents globally, therefore creating sustainable work opportunities for the new digital economy. In West Africa two groups of 27 students each will complete their training in August this year, while the next cohort in South Africa started mid-July.

The post Switch to Virtual Learning Model Pays Off for 51风流Skills for Africa Graduates in an Increasingly Digital World appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.