According to the India Skills Report 2021 released in February, a huge number of the country’s youth lack the skills needed to become employable. The study has found that only 45.9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of young people would be considered ready for employment, despite India having one of the largest workforces in the world.

Additionally, a report published by the World Economic Forum in January indicated that investment in workforce upskilling could potentially boost India’s economy by $570 billion and that this initiative could add 2.3 million jobs by 2030.

Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, Vice President and Head of General Business for SAP Indian Subcontinent, has highlighted the importance of skills development and new models of learning for the country’s workforce. He shared in an interview on World Youth Skills Day last year:

“The current COVID-19 situation has affected the economy greatly as businesses have felt the impact across various sectors not only in India but across the globe. The current need is to enable businesses to digitally evolve themselves and at the same time upskill their workforce to equip them with relevant skills.”

Unveiled in June 2020, SAP India’s Global Bharat initiative aims to do just that. Developed in association with NASSCOM Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Pratham InfoTech Foundation, the program enables micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India by providing them access to innovative sourcing solutions, as well as tools to enhance the workforce’s digital, financial, and soft skills, as they embark on their digital transformation journeys.

Advancing SAP Education Initiatives to Upskill the Indian Workforce

As a market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is well-positioned to support companies of all sizes with its vast training portfolio and learning options. In recent years, SAP Education has been forging partnerships with other training providers to address the demand for upskilling the Indian workforce.

Adding to the growing list of SAP Education partners in India is SpringPeople. The enterprise IT training provider has recently announced that it is now tasked with bringing the latest SAP tools and technology offerings to over 750 enterprises. Peeush Bajpai, CEO and Founder of SpringPeople, said:

“Businesses today need to take meaningful steps to upskill and cross-skill the current and future workforce, regardless of their size or industry. Together with SAP, SpringPeople will focus on filling the current gap in the market for flexible, enterprise-focused, SAP syllabus and courses options that help prepare future workers. This is another example where doing what’s right for learners and doing what’s right for businesses are in perfect harmony.”

As part of the collaboration, enterprises will be able to advance SAP Education’s portfolio of offerings within their organisations. This includes SAP Cloud Certifications, SAP Security Boot Camps, exclusive private training batches with hands-on practice on live SAP Servers, customised training batches for SAP content and platform, and SAP Learning Hub subscriptions.

Commenting on the partnership, Yugesh Jerath, Head of Partner Channel, T&A Solution at SAP, said:

“SpringPeople’s quality training, delivery standards, and outcome-driven approaches closely align with the high-standards SAP Education protocols. We are excited to onboard SpringPeople to strengthen and skill the Indian workforce through SAP tools and technologies.”

Moreover, organisations will have the flexibility to create exclusive private SAP training classes, engage SAP experts for training delivery, manage the course curriculum, and have full control over training dates and batch sizes.

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Emerging technologies and the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic have drastically changed the workplace itself. While the events of last year accelerated the pace of digital transformation, it has also significantly changed the types of skills organisations need to operate their businesses in this new era of work.

According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, governments and businesses should work together to help people adapt to the jobs of the future by collaborating on new methods in hiring potentials and skills, co-funding training programs, and deploying online learning support for all. Additionally, WEF estimates that 42{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the core skills required for jobs will change by 2022.

Maxwell Wessel, Chief Learning Officer at SAP, said:

“While digital transformation has brought about a tremendous amount of progress and innovation, it has also changed jobs as we know them today and has put many people at risk of unemployment.”

Learning and Development Opportunities for the Future of Employment

SAP is uniquely positioned to contribute to the global reskilling initiative with its vast program offerings designed to help people attain relevant skills to secure decent, meaningful jobs.

Its online training platform openSAP has been known in the SAP ecosystem as the provider of innovative, expert-led learning Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at zero cost. Recently hitting five million course enrollments, openSAP has been helping new learners outside the SAP community including students, teachers, and other professionals stay up-to-date with the latest SAP software, solutions, and technologies.

While SAP remains committed to delivering its own programs, it has also been collaborating with other organisations to further tackle the challenge of reskilling the future workforce. SAP is one of the 25 companies and institutions that have expressed support for the WEF’s Global Challenge Initiative on Employment, Skills and Human Capital along with other tech giants such as Siemens and Microsoft Corporation.

By mobilising business, civil society leaders, and governments to take action and raising awareness of the key issues, WEF’s initiative aims to reshape the future of employment, education, and skills.

Access to SAP Software Training Through People to Work by SAP

The global expansion of People to Work by SAP once again reinforces the tech giant’s commitment to improving the living conditions of people worldwide through publicly-funded SAP software training and certification programs.

Catered to job seekers, those who are threatened by unemployment and underemployment, and employees who need to reskill due to shifting job requirements, People to Work by SAP offers a wide range of country-specific training options to equip people with the right skills and help them re-enter the job market.

Delivered by an extensive partner network, the program utilises high-quality learning tools provided by SAP and awards learners with SAP Global Certification digital badges to verify their competence. Explaining the focus of the publicly-funded program, which is available through SAP education partners, Wessel shared:

“To help counteract the rising unemployment at an early stage, the People to Work program by SAP focuses on helping people who are looking to get back into employment, while enabling them to develop the digital skills that are necessary to thrive in the future workforce.”

Juergen Mueller, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Board Member at SAP, deemed the global expansion as an important step in the right direction. He said in a LinkedIn post:

“Through this program, we help people reskill due to changing job requirements or get back into employment by offering social competencies, soft and digital skills training. Education is key to personal growth and economic success.”

The program, which has assisted more than 400,000 job seekers and professionals in reskilling or acquiring new skills, was first launched in Germany. It has already expanded to countries such as Denmark and South Korea.

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Yatti Soni from Inc42 shared her takeaways from the recently concluded 33rd India Economic Summit. 

Here are some of the key items from the World Economic Forum in India:

Technologies to make a more significant impact on communities

The plan for a six-month pilot aptly called ‘Medicines from the Sky’ was formalised by the government of the state of Telangana. The collaboration with Apollo Hospitals and the WEF for the project is expected to start in 2020.

WEF collaborated with drone startups to help increase healthcare access for communities in the Telangana state. 

Additionally, WEF released a report that shows India’s potential to become the largest electric vehicle (EV) market in the world. This paved the way for EV industry players and concerns on market adaptability.

Christoph Wolff, WEF’s Head of Mobility, said:

“The role of government is crucial for accelerating adoption. Right now, the uptake of electric vehicles is slow due to the high upfront cost and range anxiety, but a long-term investment in research and development (R&D) will create sustained growth.”

Startups to receive attention

Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of India’s secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra said that one of the government’s commitments include spreading its startup mission to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities within the next five years. He also said that the government is working on providing startups with room for experimentation and developments without implementing tight regulatory boundaries.

Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog’s CEO, said that the government is working to ensure funding for Indian startups. He also pushed for Indian startups to build the courage to take risks and enter the international market.

In separate sessions, Sequoia Capital India’s Shailendra Singh and Kalaari Capital’s Vani Kola urged the government to allow startup IPOs despite the lack of profitability. The latter raised the need for structural reforms for startup access capital.

WEF in India puts a focus on policies

US Secretary Wilbur Ross said that India needs to have more balance in its e-commerce policy with considerations to the changes in regulations.

He said:

“I think it is the question of how rapidly things change. It is a question of proportionality, question of timing, and a question of balance.”

India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, echoed Ross’ call for a balanced e-commerce policy stating that the government has to be very clear on creating e-commerce regulation for the protection of smaller retailers.

Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group, said that personal tax rate should also be reduced because the decrease in demand has become visible. He further added that the government should push for it even if it meant increasing fiscal deficit.

India’s optimism about tech

An opinion poll organised by SAP and Qualtrics, with 10,000 respondents from 29 countries, revealed that Indians are among the world’s most optimistic people when it comes to technology.

More than 800 world leaders participants from academia, civil society, government, and private sectors attended the summit.

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SAP, using the Qualtrics survey tool, revealed that Indians are some of the most optimistic people in the world when referring to technology.

The survey had more than 10,000 respondents across 29 countries. The poll results showed that Indian respondents have exceptional optimistic views on technology. The results have also revealed that Indian poll participants trust climate scientists and international organisations more than other people in other regions.

Additionally, the Qualtrics survey tool revealed that Indians are also one of the least skeptical people in the world when it comes to motives of technology companies. More than two-thirds have rejected the thought that profit is the only motivator for technology companies.

Qualtrics survey results

Compared to the global averages, Indian participants said that technology improved “jobs,” “personal relationships,” and “society.”

When asked “Does technology make life better?”, 55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the Indian respondents answered “much better.” This shows that they are giving the new technology a warm welcome despite the possibility of jeopardizing jobs, but they are looking forward to a growing economy that will provide opportunities.

More than half of the respondents said that their jobs would possibly be automated, which showed a higher rate compared to other regions surveyed. However, when asked how difficult would it be to get another job tomorrow, only 2{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents said that it would be “somewhat difficult.”

Sriram Gutta, Head of Community Development, India and South Asia, World Economic Forum, said:

“The rise of advanced technologies has the potential to create economic and social value and bolster India’s goal of maintaining its growth momentum. At this week’s India Economic Summit, it is one of the four key themes of the programme. These statistics indicate the foundation is there for accelerating the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. The next step is to ensure the governance of them assists India in leapfrogging to an advanced stage of development while maintaining high levels of trust.”

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