SAP UK & Ireland today announced its new Apprenticeship Scheme to invest in long-term UK talent development and keep the organisation competitive, innovative and delivering business transformation at scale.
Following the success of an internal pilot last year, SAP’s new Apprenticeship Scheme began in September 2023 with a focus on upskilling existing employees and equipping new talent with the knowledge to flourish within the organisation’s ecosystem. As part of the programme, SAP will also provide a targeted financial donation of £400,000 to support SMEs and SAP’s channel partners to accelerate their own talent development initiatives.
Every year, SAP runs a best-in-class UK internship programme that sees undergraduates in their penultimate year join the business for 13 months, learning critical business skills across finance, business development, marketing and HR functions. The launch of the Degree Apprenticeship Scheme takes this commitment to nurturing talent one step further, opening opportunities for training and reskilling to workers in various life stages, whether that’s school leavers, graduates, existing employees or returners to work.
Apprentices will enrol in a fixed-term four year placement at SAP to provide opportunities to learn while they earn with level three to seven diplomas available. Existing employees can enjoy leadership training delivered through leading providers Corndel and Imperial Business School, learn project management skills and take Sales Transformation and Business Transformation training, provided by SAP partners Consalia and Corndel.
New or returning talent will find Degree Apprenticeships, Post-Graduate Diplomas and Executive Masters available to them through a collaboration with Consalia, Corndel, Middlesex University and Kingston University. Here they will learn the art of B2B sales and enrol in courses in a range of business areas like Professional Practice, Technical Consulting, Sales and Account Transformation. The training will lead apprentices to find, source and apply for a variety of roles within SAP or within SAP’s partner channels.
Lindsey Rowe, Head of Strategic Programmes & Sustainability GTM, said: “We continue to deliver exceptional business transformation at scale for our clients, while maintaining a progressive, inclusive and supportive working culture, thanks to the talent we have within our ranks.
“Our new Apprenticeship Scheme is an opportunity to welcome new talent to the business, keeping us at the very edge of innovation and service delivery, while enthusing our existing workforce with new opportunities to better themselves. With partnerships with Middlesex University, as well as Consalia, Multiverse, Corndel and Imperial Business School, we now offer an unrivalled suite of upskilling opportunities that marks our commitment to investing in long-term talent development.”
James Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Corndel, said: “We are excited to partner with SAP to deliver an exceptional degree experience for its new apprentices. Our degree apprenticeships are designed for seamless integration into the workplace and combine academic education, practical hands-on and applied learning, in addition to one-to-one coaching delivered by our academic and industry experts.
“We believe that degree apprenticeships, funded through the Apprenticeship Levy, are one of the most impactful and sustainable ways to bridge the UK’s skills gap and boost productivity, growth and innovation.”
Dr Phil Squire, CEO and co-founder of Consalia, said: “SAP has always provided exceptional and innovative learning experiences for its sales organisations globally. Arguably it has been one of the early adopters of work based learning sales education initiatives with the MSc in Leading Sales Transformation programmes for senior sales leaders, which has been running with us and Middlesex University internationally since 2011.
“Here at Consalia, it thrills us to see the investment and development of SAP UK’s sales force through the Degree Apprenticeship and the Post Graduate Diploma in Senior Sales Leadership. We are incredibly privileged to be partnering with SAP UK in this new initiative, supporting us with our vision to help make sales the world’s most sought-after profession.”
About SAP
SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
About Corndel
Founded in 2016, Corndel is an award winning training provider that is disrupting the apprenticeship space through transformational data and leadership learning.
Recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Chartered Management Institute, we exist to help UK organisations meet the challenges of the future and plug internal skill gaps through high-quality, bespoke workplace training. Corndel’s 150+ blue-chip clients include ASOS, AON, bp, Capita, Credit Suisse, KPMG, Bupa, Unilever, Société Générale, Asda and NSPCC.
We are now the fastest growing regulated training business in the UK, with a proven ability to maintain the highest standards of quality, customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance.
In 2022, we launched Corndel College London (CCL), our higher education initiative that delivers degrees designed for industry. CCL offers Degree Apprenticeships in business management, data and technology with leading organisations across a range of industries. We move at the speed of industry demand and innovation to shape our degree offering, always anchored in top tier business expertise.
For more information please visit www.corndel.com and www.corndelcollegelondon.com.
About Consalia
Consalia is leading the way for sales education in the UK, whose vision is to help make sales the world’s most sought-after profession. Founded in 2002, Consalia originally helped organisations to improve their sales performance by helping companies sell to their customers in a way that they wanted. Along this journey, Consalia became founding members of the UK Trailblazer group that agreed upon the standards of the sales apprenticeship that runs at present. Today, Consalia is now the UK’s only Sales Business School providing University accredited programmes through their Undergraduate and Postgraduate Diploma Apprenticeships that are truly dedicated to the sales profession. Consalia is also the only provider of the Executive Masters programme in Sales Transformation, Leading Sales Transformation and Key Account Transformation. Through the extensive research submitted into the Sales Business School, Consalia continuously refines their approach to help organisations sell in a way their customers want through their Sales Transformation offering, whilst also helping companies to set up their own sales academies through the use of the Consalia Intellectual Property (IP). Visit www.consalia.com for more information.