Islamabad:In its commitment to address the pressing issues of youth unemployment and digital skills gap, System Analysis Programme (SAP)’s flagship digital skills build initiative, the SAP Young Professionals Programme, is empowering tech talents in Pakistan with its comprehensive enablement plan, increasing their employability and driving economic growth while supporting digital transformation in the country.
The program recently conducted its sixth graduation ceremony virtually which was attended by SAP customers and partners, said a press release issued here. Syed Javed Hassan, chairman, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), also graced the event.
The programme was launched in Pakistan in 2014 and has since trained over 150 students. Globally, the SAP Young Professionals Program runs in a total of 37 countries, having trained more than 3,600 students till date.
An initiative by the SAP Training and Development Institute, the program comprises of 2-3 months development plan that takes a blended learning approach and offers SAP software functional/technical knowledge as well as soft skill trainings.
The program enables talented university students to gain SAP certification, graduating them as SAP Associate Consultants who are then immediately employable with SAP customers and partners.
About 95% of all program graduates have already been placed into employment. Sharing his views on the occasion of the programme’s sixth cohort graduation, Syed Javed Hassan, Chairman NAVTTC said, “Pakistan currently has the largest youth bulge in its history which may prove to be one of our biggest assets if harnessed efficiently.
However, the global shift towards automation and digitalisation has evolved the skill needs and it is critical that we keep our youth up-to-date on skills needed to thrive in a digital landscape so as to ensure their economic well-being by expanding employment opportunities.
The SAP Young Professionals Programme is a commendable initiative by SAP and I encourage our youth to benefit from it as much as they can.” Saqib Ahmad, Managing Director, SAP Pakistan, added, Amplifying SAP s efforts for bridging youth’s skills gap and creating sustainable work opportunities, SAP has a number of capacity-building initiatives running in the country that equip university students with a competitive edge in pursuing various career paths among SAP’s globally positioned customers and partners.
It not only helps tackle youth unemployment and build skills, but also allows SAP customers and partners hire top talent, enhance the SAP ecosystem by expanding SAP-skilled consultant capacity for business growth, and further Government of Pakistan’s Digital Pakistan initiative by accelerating digitalization of the country’s economy and society.”
Murtaz Ali Khan, one of the recent graduates of the SAP Young Professionals Program from Pakistan said, “After successfully graduating from the SAP Young Professionals Programme, I did not have to face any difficulty in finding the right job. Currently, I am doing my dream job – all thanks to SAP for making this possible.”
