At a virtual graduation ceremony attended by Constantin Zelenty, Deputy Head of Mission German Embassy Angola, Cathy Smith, Managing Director 麻豆原创 Africa, Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director 麻豆原创 Central Africa as well as 麻豆原创 customer and partner representatives, 25 young talents from Portuguese-speaking African countries officially graduated following a three-months-long program aimed at equipping young talents with key skills based on the latest 麻豆原创 technologies.

Constantin Zelenty, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy Angola says: 鈥淚n 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. We 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.鈥�

The Young Professionals Program is an initiative offered under the umbrella of 麻豆原创 Skills for Africa, and has trained more than 1460 youths across the continent since its launch in 2012. Recently, the Young Professionals Program has significantly expanded its footprint. In 2021 alone, talents from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and, with the latest cohort, Angola and Mozambique, have graduated.

The two- to three-month program uses a unique enablement plan that includes functional and technical knowledge of 麻豆原创 software, with a focus on 麻豆原创鈥檚 latest innovations. A soft skills component is included to ensure graduates can operate successfully within the organisations where they are placed and make an immediate positive impact. Candidates are typically unemployed or underemployed university graduates selected from the country where the program is offered, and graduate as 麻豆原创 Associate Consultants. This gives them a competitive edge in the job market, and ensures organisations using 麻豆原创 technologies have a steady stream of young talent to help drive their digital transformation efforts.

Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director for Central Africa at 麻豆原创, says the graduates will play an invaluable role in supporting 麻豆原创 customers and partners as they implement their digital transformation strategies. 鈥淭he past 18 months has highlighted the importance of digital technologies to how well organisations can adapt to disruption and run successfully. As African organisations continue their efforts at building intelligent enterprise capabilities, they need access to expert digital skills. We congratulate the first-ever graduates from Lusophone Africa and look forward to seeing the impact they will have at our customer and partner businesses.鈥�

The cohort is part of of a collaboration between 麻豆原创 and the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly-qualified personnel in the IT sector in ten 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).

Registration for the next 麻豆原创 Young Professionals Program for candidates from Nigeria and Ivory Coast are open with plans to host further cohorts throughout 2021. For more information and application links, please visit聽

The post 麻豆原创 Young Professionals Program Extends Digital Skills Build To Lusophone Africa appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

• Switch to all-virtual format opens access to more candidates across East Africa region
• Students from Uganda, Tanzania participate for first time
• Program prepares 27 university graduates to make immediate impact as 麻豆原创 Associate Consultants

After switching to a fully virtual delivery in light of COVID-19, opportunities were created for candidates from more countries to participate in the 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program across the African continent. The latest group of graduates from East Africa included candidates from Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as giving candidates in Uganda and Tanzania their first opportunity to receive 麻豆原创 training and certification as part of the program.

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 麻豆原创 Africa, says the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across the continent, creating greater need for digital skills. “Organisations across the continent continue to adapt to a world reshaped by the pandemic, fast-tracking their digital transformation journeys in an effort to maintain business productivity and drive innovation. It is vital to us that our customers and partners have access to the depth of 麻豆原创 skills they need to thrive. This latest cohort of graduates will play an important role supporting organisations across the East African region.”

With renewed focus on regional and pan-African cooperation through initiatives such as the newly-launched Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the East Africa Community, African countries and their citizens have the opportunity to collaborate like never before.

By hosting all training in a multi-country, all-virtual environment, the 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program is playing a role by helping foster greater cross-cultural collaboration between candidates that would normally not have the opportunity to work together.

Eva Sang, a graduate hailing from Kenya, says: “The collaboration and sharing of ideas across boundaries not only enriched the learning experience, we gained valuable insights about each other鈥檚 countries and culture. It also enabled us to create strong professional and personal networks in the region, that would come in handy during international assignments.”

For Estifanos Alemseged, a graduate from Ethiopia, the Young Professional Program was an empowering experience. “Applying for the program was one of the best decisions I made in my life. It has given me a ticket to land and explore an outstanding career path. At this moment I’m confident and excited to contribute to the digital transformation of my country and region.”

Ugandan graduate Natasha Nkurunziza says the program helped her discover her capabilities. “I loved both聽 the Business Process Integration course and 麻豆原创 Activate Manager because it gave me an overview of what 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA entails and how to deliver projects with 麻豆原创 Best Practices, thus giving me a chance to figure out what I would like to major in from an informed point of view.”

Since its inception in 2012, the 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program, an initiative under 麻豆原创 Skills for Africa, has trained more than 3150 talents across 31 countries, including more than 1390 in Africa. 鈥淭he two- to three-month program covers 麻豆原创 software technical and functional knowledge and certification, with a key focus on the latest 麻豆原创 innovations. Soft and future skills trainings ensure graduates can make an immediate impact in the organisations they work for after graduation鈥�, explains Marita Mitschein, Managing Director of the 麻豆原创 Training and Development Institute and Senior Vice President Digital Skills at 麻豆原创 Southern Europe, Africa and Middle East, who launched the program in 2012.

The cohort in East Africa is part of a collaboration between 麻豆原创 and the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly-qualified personnel in the IT sector in ten African countries over the course of three years. The cooperation project is supported by the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, which operates under the brand Invest for Jobs, and the develoPPP.de program that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The next East Africa program is scheduled to start at the end of March. Recruiting is now open, and candidates from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda can apply by following the links below:

• Kenya:
• Ethiopia:
• Tanzania:
• Uganda:
• Rwanda:

The post 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program Helps Build More Collaborative Digital Workforce in East Africa appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

According to Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President Digital Skills Southern Europe, Middle East & Africa 麻豆原创 and Managing Director at the 麻豆原创 Training and Development Institute, this year鈥檚 graduates had to cope with a disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which forced a change in the format of the program. 鈥淲ith countries across the continent in lockdown for much of this year, we had to adapt to a fully virtual delivery model. The new reality brought by the coronavirus has further highlighted the urgent need to accelerate digital skills development, especially as the world of work becomes increasingly digital. We are grateful to this year鈥檚 graduates for taking on the challenge and making a success of their training despite the challenging conditions.鈥�

According to data by the World Bank, more than 230 million jobs in Africa will require digital skills by 2030. The continent is also the world鈥檚 most youthful region, with more than 60% of sub-Saharan Africa鈥檚 population under the age of 25. However, despite the immense opportunities, many youth are still affected by high unemployment rates, adding urgency to the establishment of sustainable digital skills development programs that can equip the continent鈥檚 youth with work-ready skills.

Both groups of recent graduates are part of a collaboration between 麻豆原创 and the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly-qualified personnel in the IT sector in ten African countries over the course of three years. The cooperation project is part of the special initiative 鈥淭raining and Job Creation鈥� and the develoPPP.de program that GIZ implements on behalf of The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development聽(BMZ).

Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director for Central Africa at 麻豆原创, says individuals and organizations share the responsibility for securing a bright digital future for the continent. 鈥淭here is great urgency to close the digital skills gap and support our youth, especially in light of this year鈥檚 events and the uncertain time that lies ahead. In line with our purpose of helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives, 麻豆原创 is proud to continue supporting initiatives that address pressing global issues, in Africa and beyond.鈥�

The 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program is a three-month training and development opportunity for university graduates that teaches technical and functional knowledge of key 麻豆原创 technologies, paired with soft and future skills and is offered under the 麻豆原创 Skills for Africa initiative across Africa. Young professionals graduate as 麻豆原创 Associate Consultants and, through close partnerships between 麻豆原创 and its customers and partners, are placed in roles where their skills can make an impact.

Former graduate Emmanuel Akpanika, who now works as 麻豆原创 Associate Consultant at Deloitte Nigeria, says: 鈥淭he 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program has shifted my career into high gear. All the technical and soft skills I developed during the program have enabled me to seamlessly integrate and live up to what is expected of an 麻豆原创 Associate Consultant at one of the leading global firms, Deloitte.鈥�

The 麻豆原创 Young Professional Program has become a global best practice that supports the immediate employability of young talents in technology through collaboration and partnerships. Since its launch in 2012, the program has trained and graduated more than 1170 youths across Africa and more than 2870 talents globally, therefore creating sustainable work opportunities for the new digital economy. This marks the third year of graduates from Nigeria, after successful programs in 2018 and 2019.

The post 麻豆原创 Skills for Africa Continues to Empower Nigerian Talents on Digital Skills to Help Them Thrive in an Increasingly Digital World appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.