Partner profile: SAP
Contributing to Generation Unlimited, SAP and UNICEF partner to provide quality education and life and job skills training to young people
A staggering number of young people are left outside of economic and livelihood opportunities around the world. Globally, an estimated 23% of young members of society are neither in employment, education nor training (NEET), and in many cases the available education and training systems are inadequate. Innovations have the potential to reduce the current skills gap by improving the quality of information, enhancing information flow, and providing training and networking opportunities.
Contributing to the global Generation Unlimited partnership, SAP and UNICEF have kick-started a three-year collaboration that focuses on workforce readiness and the provision of quality education, life skills and job skills training to young people in disadvantaged communities, preparing them for decent work and active citizenship. The partnership aims to develop standardized national curricula and conduct in-depth research on how to better connect the private sector with future talent. This work is closely aligned with government and other partner initiatives to support the improvement of formal and informal education systems. Initially, these activities are focused on reaching young people in India, Turkey and Viet Nam.
“A lot of youth don't have the right people in their networks to tell them about jobs, connect them to jobs, and teach them the basics of applying to a job.”
In addition, through the Generation Unlimited Global Breakthrough on Job-matching, SAP and UNICEF aim to address the gap in feedback loops between employer needs, job-seeker skills and education systems. One of the early outputs from the partnership was an analysis of job readiness with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. The resulting report recommends a number of potential actions, including supporting innovation challenges and leveraging the UNICEF Venture Fund. Another opportunity that has been identified includes exploring opportunities around the creation of a virtual “JobTech Hub of Hubs” that would support the scale-up of employment-related technology and bring JobTech innovators together.
“For us at SAP, it is all about empowering people with technology, and we share UNICEF’s belief that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential,” said Christian Klein, Co-CEO of SAP. “With millions of children worldwide affected by poverty and violence, we are proud to partner with UNICEF to power opportunity through digital inclusion by building scalable education models and workforce readiness solutions – for a better world for all of us.”
“For young people, the path to a successful future goes through quality education that equips them – and empowers them – with the skills they need to thrive in today’s workforce,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Young people are some of the world’s best creatives, enthusiasts and thinkers. We are excited to work with SAP to harness young people’s energy and ideas and help them contribute to their economies and societies.”
