SAP
A UNICEF corporate partner since 2019
SAP and UNICEF partner to give young people training in job skills to power the future workforce.
SAP and UNICEF joined forces in 2019 to create innovative solutions to challenges in global education and workforce opportunities.
Under a strategic multi-million dollar partnership, SAP and UNICEF are generating inclusive opportunities for underserved young people worldwide, preparing them for decent work by equipping them with the hard and soft skills needed to make the most of future work opportunities. The partners aim to help develop sustainable, scalable education models to provide more than 1.5 million young people with 21st-century digital and life skills by 2022.
SAP is continuing its partnership with UNICEF for an additional three years, supporting a pilot programme to provide job skills in the digital and green economy for marginalized young people in Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa.
The challenge
Of the 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world today, nearly 90 per cent are in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, an estimated 22 per cent of young people are neither in employment, education or training.
Many are not learning the skills they need to get jobs, while a fast-changing global economy demands increasingly specialized skills. By 2030, companies and communities throughout the world need to be ready to sustainably integrate two billion young people seeking employment into the workforce.
“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.”
What the partnership does
The partnership will look to develop a standardized national curriculum, workforce readiness programmes, and in-depth research to better inform and connect the private sector with future talent.
Aligning with governments and partners, SAP and UNICEF are supporting the improvement of formal and informal education systems, starting in India, Turkey and Viet Nam. This includes using digital tools to provide school students with a range of life skills and career pathway opportunities.
India
In India, the partnership aims to strengthen key government initiatives to improve digital skills and life skills, and help link young people with career pathways. The goal is to provide young people with career options, reimagine the model in other states with the Government of India, and impact around one million young people by the end of 2022. On World Youth Skills Day 2020, UNICEF India announced its partnership with SAP India to provide career counselling to young people that will improve their employability skills.
Viet Nam
In Viet Nam, the partnership focuses on enhancing digital and transferable skills for secondary school and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) students, to allow them to develop to their full potential and to support employability. Special attention will be given to the inclusion of girls, including those from ethnic minorities as well as adolescents with a disability.
Together, UNICEF and SAP work closely with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to develop and roll out age-appropriate digital and transferable skills curricula to prepare children and adolescents for the future.
In October 2020, Ministers of Education from governments in South Asia as well as experts from UNICEF and SAP came together for the UNICEF-ASEAN dialogue on 'Digital Transformation of the Education System throughout ASEAN' to discuss the role of digital literacy and transferable skills for the future of young people in the region.
Turkey
In Turkey, SAP and UNICEF partner in support of the formal education system. UNICEF supports the government to provide young people with digital (block-coding, app development, machine learning and artificial intelligence) and transferable (communication, collaboration and empathy) skills. The partnership works in full cooperation with the Ministry of National Education. This includes the establishment of Design and Skills Labs, which help learners improve a range of 21st-century skills, including digital skills, as well as problem-solving, critical thinking, productivity, teamwork, and social-emotional skills.
Generation Unlimited
The partnership between SAP and UNICEF contributes to Generation Unlimited, an initiative that focuses on ensuring that every young person is in education, training or work by 2030. Launched in 2018, Generation Unlimited convenes multi-sector public and private investment in education and employment of youth, while engaging young people in these efforts.
The partnership takes SAP’s existing Building Digital Skills portfolio and investments to the next level. “At SAP, we believe that technology can make the world run better and improve people’s lives," said SAP CEO Christian Klein. "Like UNICEF, we think that all children have the right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential. Together, we power opportunity by building scalable education models and workforce readiness solutions. Our world is transformed by globalization and digitization. To learn foundational skills, children and young people need access to quality education.”
Case Study
Find out how the SAP-UNICEF partnership creates new ways of learning and how this helps young people like Arpita from India find their way and follow their dreams.
The case study was published in the Global Goals Yearbook 2021, a publication in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the advancement of corporate sustainability globally.
Last updated 22 September 2021
