SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG – IN an effort to empower more youth in the continent, SAP Africa has officially introduced Cape Town to its latest chapter in the company’s Skills for Africa.
The initiative is a skills development and job creation scheme.
The latest chapter of the programme involves local SAP customers and partners including; Accenture, Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Zimele Technologies, Consnet, UCS and the City of Cape Town who all share the same mission of promoting economic growth to develop a platform for sustainable job creation in the region.
At an event held on Monday in the coastal city, it has been announced more than 350 graduates applied for the programme and after rigorous review and interviewing procedures, 44 students were finally selected.
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services and Compliance, Xanthea Limberg, said as digital skills are critical precursors to the growth of developing economies, Cape Town was committed to collaborating with private sector partners as it continued to build on this legacy by empowering our youth with technical skills.
“As such, I am incredibly proud to be here today as the City of Cape Town in collaboration with SAP Africa offers employment to 15 graduates with highly sought after technical qualifications,” said Limberg.
The City of Cape Town has been an SAP partner since 2003.
The SAP Skills for Africa programme is an intense ICT and business skills course and this first Cape Town chapter will take place from end June to September.
Launched last year with over 89 000 youngsters trained in coding across 17 African countries, this year’s series of events will see more than 150 000 youth across 30 African countries targeted.
Lawrence Kandaswami, Managing Director for SAP South Africa, said there were many education and skills development initiatives that been introduced across Africa over the years.
However, what was key is to link skills development to job creation through internships – resulting in jobs for these talented individuals.
“In a developing economy such as ours, a digital education isn’t accessible for all,” said Kandaswami.
He noted a cavernous gap between the education that young people are receiving and what the employment market needs.
“Critical to the success of the SAP Skills for Africa programme is collaboration and we are delighted to be partnering with Western Cape business and government through this exciting initiative,” added Kandaswami.
– Guardian
