SAP's Vision for Supporting Business Transformation and the Workforce of the Future

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reversing poverty, achieving sustainable lifestyles: all of these are incredibly ambitious, highly complex goals for our planet.

And this week, as I join many of the world’s business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, I have never been more certain that people and technology will continue to be the essential resources for achieving these objectives and all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Humanity is entering one of its most transformative phases ever. OECD estimates, however, warn of a coming technical skills shortage. Research shows that there could be a shortage of 85.2 million skilled workers by 2030. One-third of all jobs worldwide may be transformed by technology in the next decade. The world’s young people will need a strong digital foundation to meet the challenges of the future.

Tech Skills Shortage

SAP technology will be at the center of much of the world’s transformation and the pursuit of the UN SDGs. While many companies and government agencies are introducing the new generation of SAP software, we see a corresponding, clear need to add more SAP technical specialists to the workforce.

For this reason, we are making major commitments to building SAP software skills across the workforce. I am proud to say that, in addition to the open online courses that are available on the openSAP platform, SAP recently rolled out an expanded repertoire of free, open content on the SAP Learning site for anyone who wishes to earn SAP credentials. We invite and encourage people to join our business ecosystem of existing SAP technical specialists.

Getting the SAP Skills

SAP has made a commitment to flexibility, inclusion, creativity, and reducing the barriers to entry for SAP technical training.

We know that today’s learners want more than traditional classroom training. They also want virtual, experiential, peer-to-peer, and self-paced learning experiences. That is why SAP training is available in a variety of formats. Our approach is to place the learner at the center of their own learning experience through high-quality digital learning, expert-led instruction, microlearning, and podcasts.

Here are some resources that are available now.

• SAP Learning: We recently more than doubled the free content on this platform.
• Student Zone: This new resource through SAP Learning is available to any student, anywhere, globally. It provides access to SAP learning experiences to prepare for a career in the SAP ecosystem. Students in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region are already pursuing SAP certifications through Student Zone in collaboration with SAP University Alliances.
• openSAP: Free, expert-led learning options for SAP experts or beginners.

Success Stories

SAP already interacts with more than 650,000 active learners every year on our learning platforms.

One of our success stories comes from NS2 Serves, an independent, nonprofit organization. NS2 Serves provides U.S. military service members with a three-month, free SAP training curriculum to support their transitions to civilian careers. Training also includes non-technical skills, such as communication and public speaking. There is a 99% job placement rate for graduates of this program.

The benefits of IT credential-building include greater career opportunities and earning potential, as well as increased professional confidence and job satisfaction. SAP training offerings are also a superb resource for companies that need to adopt technology domains, such as computational infrastructure and platform services, security, storage, database, digital workplace, and IT automation.

Achieving the UN SDGs will require great SAP technology and people skilled in implementing it. I am thrilled to see the growth of SAP’s learning platforms and the free options that we believe will encourage and attract new SAP-credentialed specialists.

I can’t wait to see how our platforms and programs will give people the skills they need to accelerate digital transformation today and for future generations.

Sabine Bendiek is chief people and operating officer and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.