Kholiwe Makhohliso, the managing director at SAP Southern Africa, says upskilling and mobilising Africa’s considerable skills base is a defining opportunity for the future success of the continent.

“Digital technologies continue to shape industries and businesses throughout the continent, driving high levels of demand for professionals with relevant skills. As the pace of technological change continues to accelerate, organisations increasingly need new approaches to skills development to keep in step with the latest advances in cloud, AI and other transformative technologies,” she said.

SAP’s 2023 report ‘Africa’s Tech Skills Scarcity Revealed‘ laid bare significant challenges with skills availability among organisations in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.

The report revealed that low levels of tech skills availability affect most organisations, with four in five companies reporting negative consequences from a lack of tech skills.

While the tech skills gap persists globally – with McKinsey finding that 87% of global senior executives reported their companies were not adequately prepared to address the skills gap – the situation can be more acute for African organisations.

Cloud, AI skills in high demand

According to Manos Raptopoulos, president: SAP EMEA, skills availability has become even more important in light of the ongoing impact of cloud and artificial intelligence on the region.

“Enterprises throughout the region are leveraging powerful new cloud and AI capabilities to transform their business models and accelerate growth and innovation. As the business landscape becomes increasingly shaped by the power of these technologies, organisations need access to relevant skills to ensure they reap the benefits of the cloud and AI revolution.”

SAP launched new learning opportunities for developers in 2023, focusing on cloud and generative AI capabilities.

SAP Build Code solutions offer AI-powered productivity tools for developers and draws on the power of SAP’s AI co-pilot Joule to boost productivity and embed code generation capabilities for a range of applications, from data model and application logic to test script creation.

The company also launched new role-based certification and free learning resources for back-end developers in 2023 as part of a global commitment to upskill two million professionals by 2025.

Work-ready skills for graduates

The SAP Young Professionals Program (YPP), offered by the Digital Skills Centre of SAP, extends the company’s skills development efforts to graduates.

YPP is aimed at enabling young talent to utilise the latest SAP technology and innovation, and covers software functional and technical knowledge and certification, with a strong focus on the latest technologies and a range of soft skills to ease entry into the workplace.

Since its launch in 2012, the SAP Young Professionals Program has trained and graduates more than 4100 candidates across 41 countries, including over 1900 in Africa alone.

Vincent Mabeka, a 2023 graduate from South Africa, says the SAP Young Professionals Program helped him improve his skills, learn about new technologies and gain hands-on experience and unlock new job opportunities.

“The Young Professionals Program required dedication, hard work and passion, but rewarded me with guidance, feedback and recognition for my skills and capabilities. This has helped me secure a job as an SAP Solutions Advisor where I apply the knowledge and skills I learned to exciting projects. Thanks to the resources and network I developed during my time on the program, I continue to learn and expand my skills and abilities.”

Youth skills development in focus

With the world’s fastest-growing youth population, any digital skills efforts in Africa must extend to the continent’s young people.

Africa’s working-age population is predicted to grow to more than 600 million by 2030, constituting a quarter of the world’s under-25s.

But digital skills remain elusive among Africa’s youth, despite a projected 70% of jobs expected to require digital skills by the end of the decade.

Enter SAP Africa Code Week (ACW), a coding skills development programme aimed at youth that is held annually in partnership with UNESCO, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa, and Irish Aid.

Since its inception in 2015, ACW has successfully empowered 17 million young people across 54 countries with coding and computational thinking skills, while close partnerships with NGOs and governments across the continent has helped drive the inclusion of coding in national curricula.

Toward the end of 2023, SAP also announced a new pilot project in partnership with UNICEF and other public-private organisations aimed at preparing underserved youth for the digital workforce.

The SAP Educate to Employ initiative targets youth aged 16 to 24 and provides soft skills foundational knowledge using the Student Zone portal on SAP’s learning site. The knowledge prepares youth for a possible career in technology, with potential roles in development, consulting and support.

Makhohliso says the support of a broad range of partners is essential to overcoming youth skills challenges on the continent. “By directly addressing youth unemployment and inspiring our vibrant youth to pursue careers in the exciting world of technology, we together with our partners hope to mobilise the potential of our continent to become leading players in the future digital economy.”

These were the main points emerging from the HR Connect event held today, hosted by SAP at the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg.

Kholiwe Makhohliso, the managing director for Southern Africa at SAP, says business and HR leaders are grappling with the complexities of a new world of work shaped by hybrid models and the impact of intelligent technologies.

“The ongoing impact of flexible hybrid work environments continue to place pressure on businesses to prioritise employee wellbeing and ensure employees are supported as they navigate the complexities of modern work. And with the expected impact of artificial intelligence on every sphere of work and life over the coming months and years, leaders must ensure they balance their innovation efforts with the needs of the employees that will drive the success of their organisations during this uncertain period,” she said.

A survey of HR leaders and more than 1300 employees worldwide conducted by SAP revealed that just over a third of organisations are taking a proactive approach toward adopting intelligent technologies such as AI.

The most common applications of such technologies in HR range from recruiting to learning and employee engagement.

However, research conducted by IDC found that understanding where and how to implement intelligent technologies such as AI is one of the top ten challenges HR professionals grapple with today.

According to Shiraz Khota, head of SuccessFactors at SAP EMEA South, AI is revolutionising the HR sector by introducing positive disruptions that streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and improve employee experiences.

“The impact of AI enables HR professionals to focus on the highest-value activities, including strategy and vision. By leveraging an optimal mix of technology and innovation, HR professionals can free up time spent on routine tasks and dedicate their focus on finding ways to improve the employee experience and deliver more value to the organisation,” Khota said.

One of the most important applications of AI in Human Capital Management is to enable data-driven decision-making. Modern AI analytics deliver insights to HR professionals that guide workforce planning, identifies skills gaps, and predicts employee turnover, allowing for more effective strategic decision-making.

The technology also has exciting applications in mitigating bias to foster greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

The impact of AI can also be seen in various HR functions and tasks, with more use cases emerging on a near-daily basis. AI is being leveraged to automate CV screening, with chatbots deployed to manage initial engagements with candidates.

This helps to reduce time-to-hire and delivers improved candidate experiences.

Khota says the predictive capabilities of AI play a crucial role in foreseeing and shaping workplace trends, ensuring businesses stay ahead in their talent management and retention efforts.

“The integration of AI in HR is not just reshaping current practices but is a fundamental enabler for the future of work, where human expertise and technology collaborate to create more adaptable, innovative and thriving workplaces.”

Sergio Maccotta, Senior Vice-President for Middle East South and Africa at SAP, says Makhohliso joins the company at a pivotal time.

“Organisations throughout Southern Africa are uncovering new capabilities and efficiency gains through the smart use of intelligent technologies, thereby accelerating business transformation and sustainability efforts.

As the region shifts to more agile and resilient business processes to power growth across multiple industries, Kholiwe’s technology and leadership expertise will be a great asset to our business.”

With more than 20 years’ technology experience, and previous leadership roles that span both the public and private sectors, Kholiwe Makhohliso started her career as an auditor.

During her illustrious career, she has worked in IT, consulting and sales for blue chip companies that include Accenture and Oracle.

Most recently, Makhohliso was the Vice-President and Country MD for German software company, Software AG, where she served as an Executive Director board member.

Passionate about education and youth skills development, Kholiwe Makhohliso is also Chairperson of the Sparrow Trust, a non-profit organisation working to provide young, disadvantaged South African youth with education and learning opportunities.

Speaking of her new appointment Makhohliso comments, “This is a fantastic time to be joining SAP, as the organisation takes significant strides on its cloud leadership journey that is embracing the potential of AI and sustainability in the Southern African marketplace. I’m excited for this next chapter in my career as the region has a well-established installed base of SAP customers, and I look forward to further engaging both customers and partners to generate ongoing positive impact, powered by technology.”

“Organisations are navigating a new era of change and uncertainty and the role that technology plays in unlocking value is critical,” adds Maccotta. “Kholiwe’s appointment to this strategic leadership role will be invaluable in further leading SAP’s efforts in Southern Africa to power innovation and ultimately fuel economic growth.”