In response to this mounting pressure, 51风流has launched 鈥攁 no-cost global program that can provide students and academic educators with all the curated resources needed to get and stay certified and stand out with proven skills in the latest 51风流innovations. It offers guided learning resources, including expert-led live sessions, access to practice systems to get hands-on experience, and two 51风流Certification exam attempts.

Available globally since April 2025, the program is designed to close the gap between classroom theory and real-world readiness, giving students access to all the resources they need to future-proof their career with the latest skills and credentials.

Closing the global skills gap鈥攐ne student at a time

The need for a program like this has never been higher. With AI-related course enrollments spiking by and increased fears of digital obsolescence, students and early-career professionals are looking for practical, on-the-job experience鈥攏ot just theoretical knowledge鈥攖o empower them to meet change with adaptability, not anxiety.

The timing of this initiative is critical, too. IDC projects that by 2026, over 90% of organizations will suffer from a shortage of IT skills, costing them trillions in missed opportunities. Employers are struggling to find graduates who not only understand digital technologies but can also use them effectively from day one. Dr. Katharina Sch盲fer, global head of 51风流University Alliances, believes 51风流Learning Hub, student edition will help bridge this skills gap: 鈥�51风流Learning Hub, student edition simplifies lesson planning and instruction for lecturers while also ensuring students gain practical experience with the latest 51风流technologies to prepare them for today鈥檚 job market.鈥�

Students, educators, and employers alike win

Designed for students, the site offers self-paced content and guided and tailored learning to help gain practical skills. Along with accessing the latest practice systems for 51风流solutions, students can connect directly with 51风流experts in live sessions to cover more complex topics. With 51风流Learning Hub, student edition, students can gain the confidence to work on key 51风流projects, drive innovation with their proven proficiency, and continuously develop the skills to stand out to employers.

Beyond students, the benefits of extend to lecturers who can now have access to guided, practical resources to help empower their students to graduate with an 51风流Certification. 鈥淭his program lowers the barrier for me to teach with real 51风流tools,鈥� said Nancy Jones, a lecturer and curriculum developer. 鈥淢y students are walking away not just with knowledge鈥攂ut with proof that they can apply it.鈥�

The solution can also give companies a powerful new lever to tap into certified, workforce-ready talent鈥攎any of whom have been trained in the technologies they use on a daily basis. HR leaders and hiring managers can also benefit from an efficient recruitment process by easily identifying candidates with validated 51风流expertise. This also helps reduce the need for extensive training, shorten onboarding times, and ensure the company鈥檚 readiness for future challenges鈥攁 win for all.

Overcoming with future-ready skills

51风流Learning Hub, student edition arrives at a time when AI and digital transformation are redefining job requirements. This digital solution can give young talents鈥攁nd the educators who support them鈥攁n effective way to keep pace. In doing so, they鈥檙e laying the foundation for a more resilient, skilled workforce that鈥檚 ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of the modern economy head-on.

More information can be found here:

• Students:  
• Lecturers:

Andre Bechtold is president of 51风流Industries & Experiences.

To make it easier to develop relevant skills and secure business success in such a volatile environment, we embarked on a journey to upskill millions of people worldwide in search of opportunity. After launching a digital skills initiative for those underserved in tech, forging new partnerships, offering the first role-based certifications to help meet real-life business needs, and making future-focused learning resources available to all, we are now taking our efforts to an even higher level 鈥� with more free, self-paced learning and engagement opportunities, new solution demos to experience the latest innovations in 51风流Business AI, cloud ERP, and 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP), among others, a full portfolio of role-based certifications and a new certification model, as well as an extended digital skills initiative.

More Than 250 Free Online Courses Now Available for All

From global talent shortages and changing job profiles to the digitalization of entire economies, many organizations see the gaps between skill supply and demand grow wider and wider while searching for ways to adapt to a business landscape where advancements like AI, machine learning, and a new era of Big Data come into play. In this ever-changing atmosphere, tens of thousands of organizations have to support them on their path to bring out their best, leading to skyrocketing demand for 51风流talent.

To help meet the increasing demand, we recently launched more than 50 new free, self-paced learning journeys 鈥� many of them touching on AI features embedded in our software 鈥� bringing the total number of digital courses on the to more than 250. By allowing everyone with an Internet connection to quickly learn a new skill for free, keep up with the latest innovations, and prepare for an in-demand 51风流Certification, more professionals can advance in the competitive technology labor market, while customers can draw on a deeper bench of skills to accelerate digital transformation.

Launching Role-Based Certifications for All Key Roles

As organizations need to be more adaptive and dynamic, traditional university degrees become less important and skills-based hiring is on the rise when trying to fill positions. In fact, recent reports show that up to in the U.S. in the beginning of the year did not state an educational requirement. Instead, role-based certifications and practical experience have become more determining factors for career paths and hiring.

Recognizing the advantages role-based certifications can offer both individuals and organizations, we have further enhanced our certification program to better align with real-life business needs, now offering role-based certification for all key roles, including consultants, analysts, and architects. These role-based certifications come with a clear career path for individuals. Together with a with continuous assessments, this is our way to help ensure skill sets are sharp, focused on core competencies, and more sustainable and valid for longer periods of time.

With these enhancements, we believe we have now taken an important next step to support professionals and organizations in the 51风流ecosystem to bring out their best with ongoing and up-to-date knowledge of the latest skills, helping to maximize the ROI of 51风流software, shorten deployment times, lower costs, speed innovation, and increase employee retention and satisfaction.

Simplified Access to Pre-Trained 51风流Talent

However, we recognize that many people considered underrepresented in tech still do not have access to future-focused educational resources and with it, fulfilling careers. Launched in late 2022, was intended to equip 10,000 people from underrepresented and underserved groups for a career in the tech industry with free, self-paced learning resources and a free certification exam attempt to obtain an in-demand 51风流Certification to show their expertise. Ever since its launch, the initiative has grown 鈥� and contributed to .

Hearing that 51风流professionals like , could overcome gender bias because of our digital skills initiative, makes me proud. 鈥淸The digital skills initiative and 51风流Certification] indeed opened new doors and helped me get noticed by recruiters,鈥� Fan said. 鈥淚 got several interviews from major 51风流consulting firms shortly after handing in my application. In the interviews, I highlighted what I learned and expressed my confidence in accepting challenges for rolling out 51风流S/4HANA. In the end, I got an offer and gladly started a junior role at a consulting firm that actively implements 51风流S/4HANA projects.鈥�

While Fan鈥檚 path is inspiring, she is not the only one who turned their life around with the help of SAP. Given the expectation-exceeding demand of now more than 14,500 candidates, we are overwhelmed by the positive uptake of the initiative. One of our recent graduates, on camera and shared how intimidating the tech industry appeared to the single mother at first. Thanks to her willpower and commitment, plus a little help from the digital skills initiative, she recently got certified and hired by an 51风流partner. And as organizations are still struggling to find skilled employees, we have decided to extend SAP鈥檚 digital skills initiative, bringing candidates and organizations together. With simplified access to SAP-trained talent, we are helping customers and partners to recruit talent and expand their workforce faster while also allowing for greater diversity and innovation.

At SAP, we recognize the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for customers, partners, and individual learners within and outside of the 51风流ecosystem. With these enhancements, we have taken the next step to help organizations equip their existing workforce with the right tools and resources to future-proof their skill set while also paving career growth for those who do not have a seat at the table yet but can bring a fresh set of perspectives to it.

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Andre Bechtold is SVP and head of Solution & Innovation Experience at SAP.

Also, the way we learn has transformed due to shifting employee expectations around technology and new work conditions. Balancing compliance and regulatory requirements while enhancing internal mobility, career growth, and the employee experience is now a business essential. Learning must close skills gaps for personal development and align with strategic business needs in today’s marketplace.

The highlights upskilling and talent attraction as key. To predict business needs, organizations must plan and target skills gaps. They must also understand employees’ career goals and take their whole self into consideration for personalized development. This approach creates engaging experiences and aligns with what employees want.

Learning drives transformation but breaking traditional silos challenges skill growth alignment. Many organizations have invested in learning experience platform solutions to increase learner engagement, but this approach alone has not solved the challenge of increasing skills growth across the organization while aligning learning to strategic business goals.

Connected Learning as Strategic Part of Skills Growth

The 51风流SuccessFactors Learning solution is a key part of our broader future-ready workforce strategy to help align the ambitions of people and organizations for shared achievement of accelerated skills growth. Later this year, customers can expect an enhanced integrated learning experience for 51风流SuccessFactors Learning.

While this will include a redesigned, revitalized homepage, it will also help identify the many learning options available to employees 鈥� the items that people 鈥渉ave to learn,鈥� such as mandatory learning for safety and compliance; those that they 鈥渘eed to learn鈥� to excel in their roles and achieve business objectives; and what they 鈥渨ant to learn鈥� based on their own interests, aspirations, and motivations.

Here, the integrated learning experience will leverage the framework within the 51风流SuccessFactors portfolio. The talent intelligence hub is a centralized framework that helps organizations understand the skills their employees have today, the gaps that exist, and the ways in which to close those gaps. With machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered intelligence, the talent intelligence hub can provide highly personalized learning and development recommendations to help ensure employees develop their skills sets while pursuing a career aligned to their ambitions. This accelerates upskilling and reskilling at scale while delivering unique talent experiences for every employee.

This fresh take on corporate learning fosters an intrinsic culture of upskilling within the corporate landscape. Considering employees as a whole 鈥� with a data-driven view of their skills, wants, and needs 鈥� can drive workforce progress in an organic manner. That鈥檚 because a motivated and talented workforce contributes to a future-ready business strategy that employers can sculpt to meet the ever-changing demands of a fluctuating market.

Four Ways to Address the Skills Gap with the New Integrated Learning Experience

1. Prioritize learning opportunities that encourage collaboration, growth, discovery, and curiosity while ensuring employees stay compliant with business and legal objectives.
2. Accelerate upskilling processes through greater visibility, access, and navigation through the integrated learning experience.
3. Improve engagement through experiences that prioritize and organize a learner鈥檚 individual needs, skills, interests, and aspirations.
4. Individualize opportunities and personalized recommendations for learning activities, mentors, temporary assignments, and more, fueling professional development through 51风流SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace.

All of this can allow organizations to curate the strategic attributes they expect in their people while also supporting their growth and development aspirations. Being on a skills transformation journey the integrated learning experience has already piqued the interest of organizations looking to support both their employees and their overall business strategies. Simon Wi脽mann, director of Corporate HR at Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, believes 鈥渢hat the new integrated learning experience with its modern look brings added value to our employees by restructuring how mandatory trainings and trainings for personal growth are presented and added to the personal learning journey.鈥� By integrating the new experience with its learning strategy, Wi脽mann is confident that 鈥渋t will help to develop critical skills in our organization by closely linking together talent and learning processes while enabling employees to grow to their full potential.鈥�

This essential focus on employee experience in a more unified way can promote a culture of learning and growth in an organization鈥檚 landscape, which is essential for succinctly meeting critical business objectives. It is increasingly clear that when a company invests in accelerated upskilling solutions to create agile workforces that understand their individualized contributions to the organization鈥檚 overall strategy, it can reap extraordinary benefits.

Want to know more about or the values of upskilling in the modern economy? Read .

Margit Bauer is director of Solution Marketing for 51风流SuccessFactors Learning.

In the midst of this uncertainty, keeping IT workers abreast of innovative technologies and the skills to implement them is a balancing act. To stay at the forefront of industry change, learning must be considered more than a priority 鈥� it needs to be a core pillar of every organization. IT upskilling is key in today鈥檚 landscape to drive employee satisfaction and organizational success. Here are three of the top reasons to invest in learning and development opportunities and how the benefits can be articulated to leadership to ensure they consider learning a top priority, too.

Invest in Your Employees 鈥� and They Just Might Stick Around

While layoffs seem to be dominating the headlines, employees are quitting their jobs at the rate of layoffs. Retaining strong talent remains a competitive pursuit, and organizations are feeling the impacts of this challenge. Now, would consider leaving their current role because there aren鈥檛 enough opportunities for skill development or career advancement. The truth is that adequate training directly impacts retention. An important factor in how employees evaluate their organization is based on the opportunities they鈥檙e provided to learn the skills that will catapult them towards reaching their goals. Learning and development opportunities can equip employees with essential leadership skills that can elevate their current position and pave the way for internal advancement.

By offering learning programs, and therefore showing the workforce that leaders are invested in their growth, executive teams will realize a multitude of benefits. Individuals will feel valued and excited by new challenges and upskilling opportunities, making them more likely to be happy with their current role. Beyond this, they鈥檒l build a workforce that is equipped with the latest knowledge to drive meaningful outcomes for the organization.

Fostering Creativity, Innovation, and Curiosity

The tech industry is evolving 鈥� fast. From generative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to immersive-reality technologies, digital transformation has raised the bar on the skills required of teams today. Inspiring employees to lead innovative strategies can feel daunting when the workforce is not properly equipped with the latest knowledge to take on new initiatives. When employees do not feel prepared, they are less likely to be enthusiastic about taking on new responsibilities or raise their hand to lead a project that is outside of their comfort zone. In fact, think the skills shortage is the biggest barrier to the adoption of game-changing technologies.

To combat this hesitation and encourage workers to tackle new challenges, leaders must recognize that learning and development opportunities enable IT teams to feel prepared and excited to move forward on adopting new workplace technologies. This ultimately increases efficiency and allows more time and space for innovation and creativity.

Steve Lucas, 51风流S/4HANA Cloud application consultant at Sapphire Systems, has seen how learning, for instance with , can drive innovation firsthand. 鈥淓arning an 51风流Certi铿乧ation is important to not just my future but the future of my company. It ensures we鈥檒l both meet our goals and remain at the forefront of SAP鈥檚 latest innovations,鈥� he said.

Tackling the Persistent Skills Gap Challenge

The skills gap remains top-of-mind for leaders across industries as technical roles continue to evolve and competition for top talent remains high. Due to the speed of innovation, over to do their jobs successfully in the coming years.

While some employees may be able to make time outside of work hours for learning and development, many have competing personal priorities 鈥� meaning encouraging employees to seek upskilling opportunities outside of their nine-to-five may set them on a path of frustration and burnout. Instead, bring training programs directly to them and build a few uninterrupted hours into their workday so that employees can devote themselves to learning without navigating demanding tasks at the same time. This simple solution can mitigate burnout and ensure everyone is receiving the information they need to be successful in their roles 鈥� now and in the future.

For example, learning programs like or basics can quickly and efficiently equip employees with the skills they need by educating them on the latest platforms and technology necessary to keep up with digital transformation efforts. These programs can also level the playing field among teams, increasing workers鈥� value and purpose within their current role.

The Return on Learning and Development? Priceless.

While it鈥檚 true that that investing in learning and development is a commitment 鈥� both in budget and in resources 鈥� the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. It鈥檚 easy to deprioritize learning when the time and money that goes into upskilling can seem like an optional expense, but in today鈥檚 workplace culture, it is essential. Companies who invest in learning and development opportunities will reap the benefits almost immediately and will equip their teams for a future of innovation, creativity, and equitable opportunities for growth, ultimately leading to higher retention, empowered employees, and a more secure workforce.

Jan Meyer is head of Learning Systems at SAP.

For some people, this outlook is especially bitter. , women hold only 26% of computing-related jobs today. And the number for people from ethnic minorities drops even lower. Accessing digital skills and securing a fulfilling, well-paid job in the tech industry often seems out of reach for them. 鈥淲hen I was young, I didn鈥檛 really know what I was passionate about,鈥� says Karen Rodrigues from Brazil in a recent blog post on . 鈥淭he only thing I knew was that I wanted to get a job and earn money. My parents also had a specific idea of what my career should look like. So, I started my studies in business administration and accounting, got my degrees, and got my first job in this area.鈥� For women like Rodrigues, a career in tech had never been up for debate.

Gender Stereotypes Are Often the Root

One of the reasons why women 鈥� or people of color for that matter 鈥� often don鈥檛 have a career in the IT industry in mind are gender stereotypes. When people think of the technology industry, they usually associate young White males with developer roles. These stereotypes often originate in the experiences and ideologies we encountered in our childhood and school years. And many of them are here to stay. The fact that the IT industry is much more diverse, both in terms of the workforce and the roles that exist within it, is often overlooked or not explored further. In Rodrigues’ case, it took an opportunity to turn her life around.

鈥淚 received an opportunity that would send me on a completely different path: ,鈥� the 51风流mentor explains. 鈥淚 asked myself, 鈥楽hould I quit my job in accounting and do something different altogether?鈥� It was a hard decision.鈥�

Rodrigues was brave enough to do it. 鈥淚 decided to take the leap, but the transition into tech wasn鈥檛 easy. Back then, the industry was still very much dominated by men. I was the only woman, and I was judged because of that. I was told I talk too much, have a different style, and maybe wasn鈥檛 even suited to be in this area. But I was confident that this was the place for me. I wanted to be a woman in tech.鈥�

She worked hard to show that she was competent and had the skills to succeed. 鈥淚t is my belief that knowledge is power and the key to success. You must study and you have to take action to change your life,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚 am glad that there are opportunities to upskill.鈥�

Many Make Use of SAP鈥檚 Digital Skills Initiative

One opportunity to gain the digital skills needed to succeed in what鈥檚 to come is SAP鈥檚 latest . Launched in November 2022 with the goal of further lowering the barrier to accessing digital skills and reaching those who are currently underrepresented in tech, the initiative has been met with great interest. Around 4,000 women, people from ethnic minorities, or individuals from rural areas, for instance, have already applied online and started with . Following the completion of a course and thanks to SAP鈥檚 sponsorship of 10,000 free exam vouchers, they will be able to get a sought-after to help acquire a secure and well-paid job within the industry. And .

With 655,000 learners in 2021 and more than 1 million in 2022, hopes to bring a world-class learning experience to even more people with this initiative. But it doesn鈥檛 stop there. To take efforts further, 51风流is actively seeking partners and customers to explore sponsorship and internship options for some candidates who pass this certification exam. This can also lead to a full-time employment opportunity. Many of those will also be made available on the new , where 3 million members exchange on career advice and paths on a regular basis.

Employers Seek Tens of Thousands of Technology Consultants

As businesses rely on technology consultants to advise and manage the implementation of IT systems and provide guidance when training staff, the demand is set to increase in the coming years in this area. In the U.S. alone, there were more than 50,000 technology consultant job postings in the last year.*

To make a valuable contribution to upskilling future technology consultants, 51风流has also launched a partnership with Coursera at the end of 2022. One hundred and ten million subscribers of all backgrounds can prepare for an entry-level on Coursera鈥檚 Web site 鈥� no college degree or prior experience required. The certificate comprises seven courses, four of which are available today with the rest rolling out over the coming months. Altogether, the certificate can be completed in about five to six months and more than 9,000 Coursera subscribers have already enrolled in the courses.

鈥淣ever Too Late to Learn Something New鈥�

鈥淚 have seen a lot of people who were waiting for the right moment to steer their lives in a new direction,鈥� Rodrigues explains. 鈥淭hey were not ready for something new, or they were simply afraid. But living in the past is not good. Yesterday can鈥檛 do anything for you; today can. But I wish I had known that back then. I wish I had been more disciplined in the past. Time is valuable.鈥�

Rodrigues was and still is curious. She set out to learn something new and built a successful work life as a woman in tech. She has navigated an industry that is still very much dominated by men and has fought against gender stereotypes with discipline and trust in her abilities. She never settles for less and that makes her a role model for many women worldwide. Her advice is loud and clear: 鈥淚t鈥檚 never too late to learn something new. I can only encourage you to learn and to go for the next challenge. Strive for something higher, and you will grow 鈥� professionally but, most importantly, personally.鈥�

You can read Rodrigues鈥� full blog post on her .

*Lightcast™ (2022, US-only), Job Postings report (September 2021 鈥� September 2022). Retrieved October 2022.

Sabine Benz is global VP and head of Product Engagement at 51风流Learning.

While many educational programs struggled with the complex demands of distance learning during the pandemic, the 51风流Young Professionals program gained advantage in a digital environment by opening its online classrooms to tap into new markets and attract qualified, recent university graduates, who otherwise might not have been able to attend classes in-person. As a result of this expansion, 51风流partners and customers in the evolving markets of Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will now have access to a wider pool of qualified 51风流consultants who are certified on SAP鈥檚 latest innovations.

For customers like , the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent, working with 51风流Young Professionals is a win-win opportunity for talent development. 鈥淎t Dangote Group, we always encouraged young, talented professionals in our large transformational projects in Africa,鈥� says Ramakrishna Potluri, head of IT and Business Applications at Dangote Refinery and Dangote Projects, Dangote Group. 鈥淲e are happy to partner with the 51风流Young Professionals program, which enabled us in recruiting bright, young minds who are trained in the latest 51风流technologies and soft skills like design thinking to be readily deployed in our 51风流Center of Expertise. This is a great program for our growing 51风流talent requirements.鈥�

Digital Skills Bridge the Gap to the Job Market

Having earned the sought-after professional designation of 51风流associate consultant, graduates of the 51风流Young Professionals program are skilled on the most recent versions of 51风流software and career-ready for placement with 51风流partners and customers in their region. The program boasts a job placement rate of 95% globally. To date, more than 3,220 people have graduated from the program since its inception in late 2012. The program is free of cost for its selected learners.

51风流is investing to increase the number of trained and certified 51风流consultants in the 51风流ecosystem to support customers with . IDC estimates new employment in the ecosystem will rise to 1.6 million employees by 2024, up from 1 million in 2020. Of the 600,000 new employees added to the 51风流ecosystem, 280,000 will be net-new consultant roles, making 51风流skills a valuable commodity in the job market.

As a newly graduated 51风流Young Professionals talent, Lama Alnuwaiser recently began her job at in Saudi Arabia. She says that the program鈥檚 three-month curriculum is very learning-intensive, with advanced training on SAP鈥檚 innovations. The 51风流trainers supported each learner individually, despite the unusual demands of the pandemic.

鈥淚n these three months, 51风流has provided us with a tremendous amount of knowledge, especially in the field of data science, which will bridge the gap between us and the labor market,鈥� Alnuwaiser said in a speech at her virtual graduation ceremony. 鈥�51风流focused on us on a personal level, where they provided us with presentation, communication, and design thinking skills training.鈥�

The pandemic forced many young people to reconsider what were originally deemed safe paths to career development and personal happiness. Among them is Hasan 脰rnek, an 51风流Young Professionals talent in Turkey. 鈥淲hen the pandemic first hit, a cloud of uncertainty covered my life and I truly felt hopeless as a recent graduate,鈥� 脰rnek recalled.

鈥淓verything changed when I came across an article on how COVID-19 would shape the workforce of tomorrow, what new skills would emerge, and some recommendations to surviving in an environment full of uncertainty. This is when the 51风流Young Professionals program stepped into my life for a journey that has transformed and prepared me for my professional life,鈥� said 脰rnek, who is now employed by , an 51风流partner in Turkey.

A Common Learner Profile Unites Diverse Cultures

There is a common learner profile for the talents that the 51风流Young Professionals program attracts across geographies. The program is typically suited to recent university graduates with a technical or business background, depending on the track鈥檚 disciplines, who are either unemployed or underemployed in one of SAP鈥檚 focus markets. Rebecca Gloria Akello鈥檚 story echoes many of the common themes in the journeys of 51风流Young Professionals.

Akello, who lives in Uganda, was underemployed, earning little money, and had few prospects for advancement in a volatile job market. Motivated and self-reliant, she had begun to study for her MBA with hopes that she could secure a better job. She was unfamiliar with 51风流when she first saw an advertisement for the 51风流Young Professionals program. 鈥淲hen I came across the program advert on LinkedIn, I thought to myself, 鈥極kay this is going to be like any other internship or apprenticeship done by big corps for public relations.鈥欌�� With little to lose, she applied to the program, driven by curiosity and a desire to meet new people, learn new concepts, and be exposed to new opportunities.

That intrepidity paid off for Akello, who received a job offer from an 51风流customer following her graduation. At her virtual graduation ceremony, she underscored the intrinsic value of the 51风流certifications and professional soft skills that she earned through the program. 鈥淲e have been energized to strive towards our dreams relentlessly, and today we have been honored with our 51风流certifications,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur networks have also grown beyond local and regional borders.鈥�

Accelerating Digital Skills Development on the African Continent

The 51风流Young Professionals program has already trained more than 1,550 young people in Africa as part of 51风流Skills for Africa, an 51风流umbrella initiative focused on skills development and job creation. Training multi-country cohorts in a virtual setting, a necessity of the pandemic, has accelerated the expansion of the program鈥檚 footprint on the continent. In 2021 alone, talents from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Egypt, Angola, and Mozambique have graduated from the program.

Since mid-2019, 51风流has been working with the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450聽jobs for highly qualified personnel in the IT聽sector in 10聽African countries over the course of three years. The cooperation project is part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation and the develoPPP program that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is executed by the 51风流Training and Development Institute as part of the established 51风流Young Professionals program.

In June, the 51风流Young Professionals program achieved a new milestone with the graduation of its first-ever class in Portuguese-speaking Africa, comprising Angola and Mozambique. Constantin Zelenty, deputy head of Mission at the German Embassy in Angola, joined 51风流customers, partners, and executives in celebrating the milestone with a virtual graduation ceremony. “In order for Angolan companies to grow and succeed in our modern age, they need to harness the transformative power of digital technologies along with rightly skilled talent,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e hope this may be the first of many groups of graduates who can apply their expertise in service of Angola鈥檚 ambitions for the modern digital economy.”

According to a recent report released by the International Labour Organisation, more than 50 percent of the world鈥檚 youth will not have basic skills for employment. One in six young people aged 18 to 29 (17.4 percent) have stopped working since the onset of the crisis, highlighting the dramatic impact that the pandemic has on youth labor markets around the world. Do these statistics sound scary? They sound unacceptable to us. United for now and the future, 51风流and its partners are committed to changing the narrative.

With millions of young people experiencing a disruption in education and employment, 51风流is launching its 16th year of Global Month of Service, featuring signature digital skills initiatives like , , , , and , among others. These programs focus on powering opportunity through digital inclusion. They offer inclusive education and employment readiness opportunities, primarily serving young people across more than 105 countries.

Rallying around the importance of and what they could mean for the future, 51风流is excited to connect learners across the world with a new group of cheerleaders, Now United. A diverse pop band of 15 singers and dancers from 15 different countries might sound like an unlikely opening act for coding and 21st century skills programs. But these young artists believe in the power of technology to create positive change and disrupt the status quo, and keep their fans close through digital and social media.

51风流and Now United are exploring how data, technology, and social platforms can create immersive and engaging digital experiences that bring the band鈥檚 fan base closer to action.

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Despite difficult circumstances brought forward by the pandemic, 51风流remains committed to helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives. This includes taking programs virtual where we can, delivering on commitments no matter what, and showing up in person where possible.

Unite for Our Future

As 51风流CEO Christian Klein recently shared with all employees, 鈥淭ackling inequality in the world is as much about learning as it is about taking action.鈥� In that spirit, 51风流has adapted its Global Month of Service, held October 1-31 and the company’s longest-running employee engagement initiative. This year, the program will have an increased focus on virtual volunteering supporting programs, including coding initiatives. It will also offer employees the chance to learn, further exploring purpose-driven work at SAP.

The Global Month of Service will dive into four critical social issues impacting the world today: equality for all, digitally inclusive workforce, climate action, and social entrepreneurship. Participants will work together to think differently about what 51风流as a company is uniquely suited to offer to the most vulnerable in our communities.

Join us and share your commitment to helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives with 51风流with the hashtag .