SAP : Improving 6 Million Lives Through Quality Education and Workforce Readiness

The Global Alliance for YOUth announced today its ambition to impact 6 million young people by 2022, helping them build employability skills.

The Global Alliance for YOUth is a business-driven movement of like-minded organizations passionate about working together to help young people around the globe gain the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work, today and tomorrow.

• 20 International Companies Launch Global Alliance for YOUth at the World Economic Forum in Davos

The pace of innovation is rapidly accelerating causing exponential socioeconomic changes. According to The World Economic Forum, over 60 percent of children entering primary school today will have jobs that do not exist yet. At the same time, the World Bank estimates that 60 percent of the world's population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy. Four billion people around the globe still lack access to the Internet.

Corporations like SAP can help address this challenge, but they can't do it alone. Twenty international private companies have decided to join their forces in a Global Alliance for YOUth, tackling issues such as automation and the global skills-gap and building a better future for younger generations.

'While I think governments have a role in setting up the correct environments, this is a universal problem that companies cooperating together can help address,' said Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Global Customer Operations, at the Launch for the Global Alliance for YOUth in Davos. 'That's why I love the Global Alliance for YOUth. It really helps us bring together some of the resources and programs that we have as companies, and facilitate this learning initiative. For example, SAP launched Learning for Life last year, which so far has already touched 2.8 million youth in 93 countries across the world.'

'Every organization has a role to play in creating access for all to quality education and decent, meaningful work,' adds Alexandra van der Ploeg, global head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP. 'Multi-stakeholder partnership is a crucial element to drive effective, sustainable change. We connect the core competencies of different organizations and multiply the impact that we have with each other.'

To date, the alliance founding members include: ABB, Adecco, BBVA, Cargill, CEMEX, Engie, EY, Facebook, Firmenich, Mercer, Mastercard, Microsoft, Nestlé, Nielsen, Publicis, Rockwell Automation, SAP, Starbucks, Vodafone, and White & Case. Together, these organizations employ more than 1.5 million people around the world.

Alliance for YOUth

Nestlé founded the Alliance for YOUth in Europe in 2014 with the purpose of helping prepare young people to enter the professional world. After its successful launch, the alliance was expanded to the Pacific Alliance countries in 2017 (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) and the Mercosur countries in December 2018 (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). In 2019, the Global Alliance for YOUth was launched publicly at World Economic Forum in Davos with 20 organizations.

Learning for Life

Learning for Life is an inclusive education, training, and workforce-readiness initiative from SAP. With a portfolio of more than 30 digital literacy programs, Learning for Life opens opportunities and changes people's lives by ensuring everyone - regardless of age or background - has the relevant skills to thrive, innovate, and secure meaningful work in a digital world. Learning for Life partnerships and programs focus on three areas to equip people with twenty-first century skills: 1) preparing the future workforce; 2) reskilling today's workforce; and 3) ensuring access for all. By putting people at the heart of digital transformation, Learning for Life embodies SAP's commitment to building an inclusive, skilled workforce to power the intelligent enterprise. Together, we can help the world run better and improve people's lives. Visit www.sap.com/learningforlife.