I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your support, advice, guidance & good wishes by giving very good response to the blog namely DOs & DON’Ts for SAP Career (Certification) on the basis of my on going journey from an Accountant t...
Special thanks to Sir ravisankar.venna - my inspiration & Sir jarret.pazahanick for giving coverage to the blog even beyond horizon.
Further to the blog and all its comment thread I was forced to analyze the root cause of almost all the problems discussed.
Let’s take collective efforts in defining and diagnosing the root cause!!!!!
- Is Job assurance and its non compliance a problem?
No it is not the heart of the problem as I don’t say that authorized training centers do not take any efforts in providing placement, they do, even they are worried about their own reputation, In spite of all their efforts they are unable to provide placement to new comers / fresher.
- Is it economical problem? There are no jobs in the market at all?
No, I do not see it as economical problem. If we go through any job portals we see enough employment opportunities. Employers are even willing to pay satisfactorily. But this is not the case with fresher as no employer is ready to bank on candidate who has just taken training from institutes and has entered into the market. That is the reason why only fresher are expected to pay to work or to work for free.
- Is employer’s attitude or long term bond a problem?
No, an employer who is investing in an employee he does so, only with profit motive in long term, therefore I say that he must be rewarded for it by the employee by serving him at least for some definite period. If long term bond is transparent enough and carry two way clauses without having hidden intentions of fraud or exploitation; it is not a problem at all. And even if it is a problem, why this problem is faced only by fresher? Therefore I don’t see this problem as core problem.
- Is limitation of individual candidate a problem?
No, this is not individual specific problem; this is common problem with all the new comers / fresher in this field.
- Is an unauthorized training center a problem?
No, I don’t see it as major problem as, piracy is a universal problem and I say that competition has always proved batter in economy than that of monopoly or duopoly especially from consumer / customer’s point of view. Business man may not think so. I believe that education should not be treated as a business.
- Resigning from existing Job a problem?
No, if one is confident enough and passionate he may do so and jump. Sailing on multiple boats simultaneously also has got its own risk & dis-advantages.
No, nothing is free and market automatically finds the point of equilibrium.
- Is knowledge sharing a problem?
No, help.sap.com, service market place, other valuable materials available and on top SCN bridges the entire gap, Thanks to all the Gurus, Mentors & Volunteers who are helping others by sharing their knowledge & experience.
Than where does actual problem lie???
As I see, the core problem, heart of the problem, principal office and womb of almost all the problem, lies in training system.
- The training is not conducted as an educational activity rather it sounds like a business. Please refer to the blog “My experiences with SAP Authorized Training Centers” by Sir ravisankar.venna
- There is no point of interaction between market demand and the training course that is the reason why no employer is ready to employ new comers / fresher.
- It is not developing a candidate enough so that they can enter into the open market independently that is the reason why fresher need to pay to work or to work for free.
- It is only theory base training. Practicals are not given any weight age.
- It does not give confidence to the candidate for survival in competition.
- It gives a certificate which is like a Commodity otherwise why should even an experienced consultant opt for a certification even after working for many years on SAP platform? Is it adding any knowledge? No it just an addition to an A4 size paper in their career folder which can be encashed in open market.
- It is not delivering quality education. Please refer to the following message by Mr. marssel.vilaa2 on the above referred blog DOs & DONTs...
marssel.vilaa2)
Ravi,
What you think about SAP Academy training quality?
I was SAP trainer for over 5 years in unofficials SAP Training Company and I can tell you it isn´t ilegal. It just aren't allowed to conceed certification test.
They overcome the very weak didactic of official courses. A power point datashow didatic to be specific. For example my education program is a short implementation through ASAP Methodology with focus in localization. So Many students from SAP Academy have done this trainnig because is a very pratical directioned.
I do not want to encourage people to look for unofficial courses, because I myself have seen plenty wrong. But if you know courses with good references it could be a good idea for low cost and more practical training. The risk and investment are lower. Afterward you can do a SAP Academy if you are sure of you want this.
The best scenario is the improvement of SAP official Academy and reviewing of its educational content and Powerpoint classes to get better. The Clients needs real consultants preparation to invest. The One new SAP academic doesn't fit into any project demand. They only be left a shadow by one or two years after starting into the market and the salary is too much low.
Regards
On the basis of my ongoing journey and above thoughts I am of the opinion that Improving quality of the certification training course is the only way out.
My recommendations in this direction
- Bring awareness to the candidates that the course objective is not just to have a certificate but to gain knowledge and experience which otherwise will take many years to gain the same level of knowledge and experience in open market or through unauthorized training centers.
- To focus on proper execution of education program including case studies and dummy project.
- To provide solution to dummy project along with all important documents sample like business process document, business blue print, configuration guide etc. as a part of course material.
- To incorporate a live project experience into the curriculum so that on the basis of dummy project candidate can also have a look at live scenario and by the time they enter into the market they are seasoned and Job is waiting for the candidate and not the other way round.
- Make the course 100% practical oriented / market demand oriented so that market / employers can welcome all the new comers with open arms.
- Candidate should NOT be allowed to / able to abscond practicals, else - No certificate.
Please add your valuable experience and looking forward to have your views, input and recommendation towards conclusion & perfect solution that can help new generation.
Regards
Chirag Shah
