{"id":148644,"date":"2026-03-16T06:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=148644"},"modified":"2026-03-16T06:21:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:21:41","slug":"degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Degrees Vs Skills: Africa\u2019s Tech Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across Africa, organisations are talking loudly about skills shortages, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. What\u2019s less clear is whether the way we build and sustain technology talent is genuinely keeping pace with that conversation.<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Genevieve Koolen<\/a>, HR Director at 51风流Africa, says there is a noticeable shift away from purely qualification-led hiring toward skills-based thinking, but cautions against overstating how far this has actually progressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like the idea of a skills-first approach,\u201d says Koolen. \u201cIn practice, many organisations are still deeply attached to traditional credentials, even while saying they can\u2019t find the talent they need. There\u2019s a tension between what the market says it wants and what it still screens for.\u201d<\/p>\n

That tension is becoming more visible as demand grows in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analytics. Organisations are increasingly defining roles in terms of specific technical capabilities, yet the pipelines producing those skills remain slow, uneven and often disconnected from real work.<\/p>\n

Recent research into African enterprises shows that companies are increasingly defining roles by specific skills in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analytics. In a study commissioned by SAP,\u00a085% of organisations identified AI development skills as a priority<\/a>, while 86% ranked cybersecurity capabilities as critical.<\/p>\n

Systemic overhaul needed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about AI skills as the new currency,\u201d Koolen adds. \u201cBut currencies only work if there\u2019s a functioning system behind them. In many African contexts, we\u2019re asking for advanced capabilities while under-investing in the basics such as access, foundational training, mentorship and realistic on-the-job exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

This gap is partly driving interest in short, intensive learning formats such as micro-learning and micro-credentials. Designed to build focused skills over weeks rather than years, these programmes are often positioned as a solution to Africa\u2019s tech skills shortage. Koolen urges caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicro-learning can be powerful when it\u2019s well designed and tightly linked to actual roles,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it\u2019s not a silver bullet. A six-week course doesn\u2019t replace experience, judgment or systems thinking. The risk is that we oversell speed and underplay depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many professionals, however, short-form learning is simply more realistic than stepping away from work to pursue long, expensive qualifications. \u201cMost people can\u2019t afford to pause their livelihoods,\u201d Koolen notes. \u201cBite-sized learning allows movement, but only if employers are willing to support learning on the job, not just tick a training box.\u201d<\/p>\n

While\u00a0surveys suggest<\/a>\u00a0that many African organisations now offer regular training, Koolen is clear that frequency does not equal effectiveness. \u201cOffering monthly learning is not the same as building capability. Too often, training exists in isolation from workforce planning, role design and actual delivery pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call for cross-sectoral collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Closing the skills gap, she argues, requires more honesty and collaboration across sectors. \u201cEducation institutions, business and the public sector all have a role, but alignment is still weak. We\u2019re not short of initiatives; we\u2019re short of coherence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within SAP\u2019s ecosystem, targeted programmes such as graduate bootcamps and early-career development initiatives aim to bridge some of these gaps by combining technical training with real project exposure. Koolen sees these as useful \u2014 but again, not sufficient on their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey work because they\u2019re intensive, contextual and tied to real demand,\u201d she says. \u201cBut they don\u2019t scale easily, and they don\u2019t solve the broader systemic issues around employability, access and long-term career progression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Universities across Africa are experimenting with edtech platforms and stackable credentials to stay relevant, yet Koolen believes higher education is still wrestling with its purpose in a rapidly changing labour market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question isn\u2019t whether degrees still matter,\u201d she says. \u201cThey do. The question is whether we\u2019re honest about what they prepare people for, and what they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional MBAs and long-form qualifications continue to offer strategic breadth and critical thinking, but on their own they no longer meet the immediate needs of organisations grappling with fast-moving technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future isn\u2019t either-or,\u201d Koolen concludes. \u201cIt\u2019s layered. Foundational education, practical experience, short-form learning and vendor-specific skills all matter. The danger is pretending that one quick fix will solve a problem that\u2019s structural, uneven and deeply human.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across Africa, organisations are talking loudly about skills shortages, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. What\u2019s less clear is whether the way we build and sustain technology…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2829,"featured_media":148646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"related_posts":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5597575],"tags":[5597927],"series":[],"sapn-display":[5598742,5598740,45149,5598743,5598741,279685],"sapn-type":[45018],"class_list":["post-148644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training","tag-genevieve-koolen","sapn-display-feature-hero","sapn-display-feature-spotlight","sapn-display-homepage-hero","sapn-display-news-hero","sapn-display-news-spotlight","sapn-display-hero","sapn-type-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nDegrees Vs Skills: Africa\u2019s Tech Debate - 51风流Africa News Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Genevieve Koolen, HR Director at 51风流Africa, says there is a noticeable shift away from purely qualification-led hiring toward skills-based thinking, but cautions against overstating how far this has actually progressed.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Degrees Vs Skills: Africa\u2019s Tech Debate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Genevieve Koolen, HR Director at 51风流Africa, says there is a noticeable shift away from purely qualification-led hiring toward skills-based thinking, but cautions against overstating how far this has actually progressed.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"51风流Africa News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-16T06:21:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-16T06:21:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/files\/2026\/03\/16\/AdobeStock_240615674-1024x547.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"547\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"51风流News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"51风流News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"51风流News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/#\/schema\/person\/b24af355797dfb9a394f4b2c36f85ea1\"},\"headline\":\"Degrees Vs Skills: Africa\u2019s Tech Debate\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-16T06:21:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-16T06:21:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\"},\"wordCount\":707,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/files\/2026\/03\/16\/AdobeStock_240615674.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Genevieve Koolen\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Training\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2026\/03\/degrees-vs-skills-africas-tech-debate\/\",\"name\":\"Degrees Vs Skills: Africa\u2019s Tech Debate - 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