JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/PRNewswire/ -- Coinciding with Co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe's visit to?Johannesburg,?SAP AG?(NYSE: SAP) today announced the launch of a formal skills development program in SAP Africa. The "Skills for?Africa" program is aimed at developing information and communications technology (ICT) skills in?Africa?as part of SAP's global mission to help the world run better and improve people's lives. SAP's social investment strategy is focused on promoting education and entrepreneurship.
(Logo:?http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/AQ34470LOGO)
With growth and the scarcity of skills on the African continent top of mind, this program?? a first of its kind in the industry in?Africa?? will offer selected students across the continent the opportunity to develop world-class IT and business skills, effectively giving them an opportunity to play a role in contributing toward?Africa's future economic growth and infrastructure development.
This program represents the African chapter of SAP's "EMEA Workforce of the Future" campaign, focused on examining European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) trends, needs and opportunities vital to the successful recruitment, retention and training of the technology industry's workforce of the future. In support of this effort, several other activities are underway across?Europe, most notably theAcademy Cube project, which helps students in the EU prepare for "Industry 4.0," the fourth industrial revolution where products will soon be expected to be able to communicate and act autonomously with one another in intelligently networked production processes.
Along with partners and customers, SAP Africa will drive the Skills for?Africa?program around its strategic hubs, namely?South Africa,?Angola,?Nigeria,?Kenya?and?Senegal, to be followed by ancillary countries such as?Ivory Coast?and?Mauritius. Focusing initially on key industries including public and financial sectors, utilities and oil and gas, the Skills for?Africa's program aims to create a rich talent pool in?Africafor the entire SAP ecosystem. The program is targeted at students who have been identified in collaboration with the government in each of the focus countries.
To support the ambitious rollout of the program, a 56-strong partner base has also been established throughout?Africa?to maintain momentum. Due to the vast geographical area identified and in the interest of providing the best experience to students and a view to future employment, SAP will be closely aligned with the partner ecosystem in?Africa?for the rollout to help ensure a successful outcome.
Enabling Skills without Internet Access
Skills for?Africa?training will comprise a hybrid approach of classroom and e-learning. The unique self-study e-learning environment will allow students to study when and how it suits them without requiring Internet access; a key factor in many of the locations in question. To kick off this phase of the roll-out of the program, SAP Africa today also is launching training kits that include printed course material and a data-encrypted dongle, a USB which is valid for the period of the course duration. In the interest of negating piracy, the dongle will be de-activated automatically after the validity period of the course. The kits will be available in English, French and Portuguese across the relevant countries.
"Securing a highly skilled workforce in?Africa?is key to ongoing success. Not only is SAP committed to the countries in which it does business; programs of this nature make solid business sense," said Snabe. "SAP sees huge opportunities for?Africa?and the multi-million Euro investment into this program over the next five years is indicative of our commitment. Bearing in mind that the unemployment rate varies from 25.5 percent in?South Africa?to almost 48 percent in?Senegal, there is a distinct requirement for business to help develop an appropriate?skills base, especially when taking into account the enormous growth opportunity for?Africa?from an infrastructure perspective."
The Skills for?Africa?program has been crafted to meet the needs of the complex African skills landscape and to take infrastructure into consideration to ensure ease of use and learning in challenging environments. The pilot phase for the program has been successfully kicked off in?Kenya?in October of 2012, with over 100 students soon to be trained. Over the next five years, SAP plans to roll out the program to?Nigeria,?Senegal,?Angola?and?South Africa. The program will target on average 100 students per year, per country, which will result in 2,500 previously unskilled students to be educated in the much sought-after SAP skills sphere.?A second phase of the rollout is planned to extend to an additional set of countries, including?Mauritius?and the?Ivory Coast.
For more information, visit the?SAP Newsroom.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device ? SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 238,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visitwww.sap.com.
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
? 2013 SAP AG. All rights reserved.?
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in?Germany?and other countries. Please seehttp://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark?for additional trademark information and notices.
Follow SAP on Twitter at?@sapnews,?@SAPAfrica?and?@sustainableSAP.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:?
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
For more information, press only:
Antonia Stafford Ashton, SAP Africa, +27 (21) 528 1700,?antonia.ashton@sap.com, CAT
Robin Meyerhoff, + 1650 440 2572,?robin.meyerhoff@sap.com, PDT
SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EDT;?press@sap.com
SOURCE SAP AG
kentucky derby Iron Man 3 Emmett Till margaret thatcher MET GALA 2013 proflowers Susannah Collins
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.