The Importance of Upskilling
Posted on February 2015 By Speller International
Adding to your skills set through training or earning additional qualifications not only makes you a more capable employee, it highlights your initiative, commitment and desire to further yourself – all of which are traits any employer will value and hopefully reward. Additionally, in a fast-paced industry like SAP where it is expected that you stay across new technologies and solutions, it’s sometimes the difference between moving up in your company or moving on.
There are many ways to upskill, from the more formal approach of a certified course to professional development training, online training or ‘on the job’ training, and each of these come with a different price tag. But don’t fret too much about cost! If the course or training relates to your job, it’s totally within the realms of reason to ask your employer to pay for, or assist with the cost of the course. If this is not an option, your course and often course-related expenses can be tax deductable.
As a SAP professional, upskilling is important in terms of securing new roles or contracts and to ensure you remain competitive within an ever-changing market. It increases productivity, workplace satisfaction and your career options. Not only do you increase your opportunities, but your professional value, which in turn can increase salary expectations, is also drastically improved. It can open the door for internal advancements, or create new job opportunities.
When it comes time to start your upskilling journey, there are many things to consider. Returning to formal education involves sacrifice of holiday and/or family time. It includes financial costs and the added pressure of exams and assignments. Then you must choose between full time, part time or remote study, all of which require the discipline and dedication of setting aside ‘study time’ without distraction.
If you are upskilling on the job, a plan needs to be made around how you will still meet all of your current role requirements in addition to learning new skills each day. This might mean longer hours or even weekend work to fulfill your obligations.
To help you understand the personal and professional benefits of upskilling, we have interviewed 4 SAP consultants who have upskilled in a variety of capacities. Take a look below at their journeys through the world of upskilling: the benefits, the challenges and how they juggled it all.
TONY DE THOMASIS
What module of SAP is your main focus?
SAP Basis and SAP Infrastructure
What module of SAP did you chose to upskill in?
SAP Fiori, SAP TDMS and SAP Personas
What were the deciding factors around your upskill?
Mobility is a growing market, so Fiori and Personas was a sensible starting point. SAP TDMS helps to copy large volumes of data around for testing and training. The data scrambling capabilities of TDMS were of great interest in my current role.
How did you undertake your study? Part time, full time, remote learning, face to face or on the job?
It’s difficult to get time away from the office, so most of my learning is done out of hours reading Weblogs and SAP how-to guides. Once you get a basic understanding, it helps to have an environment at work where you can put your skills to good use. If you’re lucky enough to work for a progressive employer, you might get to attend an SAP Australia User Group or a Mastering SAP event. Of course spending time networking with other SAP consultants (and recruiters) can help you focus on that growth area that is about to take off.
How did you go about juggling worklife, personal life and studying?
Prioritisation is key in keeping a healthy balance between personal and business life. Staying physically active and eating sensibly also helps to maintain a healthy mind and body. I try to devote 1-2 hours per night to read articles and keep up with latest trends in computing.
What were the challenges you faced while upskilling?
Staying focused on learning things that stimulate you and will help you excel at your current job. The industry is changing so rapidly, there are just too many trends to keep on top of.
What do you believe the key benefits of upskilling are? Have you seen these benefits already?
With so much competition in the industry, and so many jobs going offshore, I see the art of upskilling as the single most important initiative you can undertake. You have so many rich resources at your disposal, all you need is the will to learn and to devote some time to the pursuit. I spend a lot of time in the SAP Marketplace, SAP Community Network and recently on the SAP Learning Hub. Don’t forget to use every opportunity to networks with others in the industry – it’s amazing how many opportunities come to those who ask.
SUDHIR GUPTA
What module of SAP is your main focus?
SAP Human Capital Management (HCM)
What module of SAP did you chose to upskill in?
Fiori and SuccessFactors
What were the deciding factors around your upskill?
I had started with a new organisation and cloud solutions and SuccessFactors were the new innovations. It made career sense for me to update on the skills I currently had to include these new innovations.
How did you undertake your study? Part time, full time, remote learning, face to face or on the job?
I undertook my study through remote learning. At the time, training in SuccessFactors was only offered online. The company I was working for was a partnering organisation so I had access to the training content. I am currently working through an SAP certification through Employee Central.
How did you go about juggling worklife, personal life and studying?
It was busy! Juggling work was ok because it was a similar functionality. I tried to squeeze in reading and webinars in while I commuted into work each day and committed 1-2 hours each day over the weekend to study. Sometimes it was hard to take time out of the day but you make it work.
What were the challenges you faced while upskilling?
When learning new solutions, the biggest challenge was not being able to apply it directly to a project. It took a little time before I was able to work on projects when I could use the new solutions and that certainly made retaining the information harder.
What do you believe the key benefits of upskilling are? Have you seen these benefits already?
It’s a busy market so its been great to be a part of that. The biggest benefit has been to the clients I work with – they are more comfortable talking with someone who understands the technology and can advise on a full solution rather than just parts of it.
After upskilling, Sudhir went on to become Speller Internationals first ever Fiori Consultant!
ABHISHEK GOR
What module of SAP is your main focus?
My main focus has always been BI.
What module of SAP did you chose to upskill in?
It started out with the standard BW tools then came Business Objects and now HANA.
What were the deciding factors around your upskill?
I have been upskilling at every opportunity I get on and off projects throughout my career.
How did you undertake your study? Part time, full time, remote learning, face to face or on the job?
Class room based, remote learning and on the job. I have attended BW courses, ABAP academy and HANA course at SAP Education over the years. This has been well worth the investment. I recently completed an OpenSAP course for BW 7.3 on HANA. However, I always find myself working with some new technology that I haven’t worked with before so I end up spending time after-hours learning and researching.
How did you go about juggling worklife, personal life and studying?
I decided to use the time I had in between contracts to educate myself for the full time course. This allowed me to focus and do all the extra practical tasks on the system to supplement the course. I had access to a training system online for this. While being on demanding SAP projects, it is quite challenging to juggle personal life and also study. I take time-off every year or so to relax, rejuvenate and upskill myself.
What were the challenges you faced while upskilling?
The main challenge is committing time and choosing the right technology to focus on. As there is so much to learn out there, especially in BI, but finding your niche and focusing on it is the key.
What do you believe the key benefits of upskilling are? Have you seen these benefits already?
The knowledge that I gained came in handy on a BW on HANA project at a Large Utility company. SAP BI being such a changing landscape, it is imperative that consultant’s upskill and cross skill. For example most customers expect BW consultants to understand all about the new BW features. Customers would like to make the most of their investment in SAP hence they look for consultants with knowledge and skills in the latest technologies.
FAREEDA SIDDIQUI
What module of SAP is your main focus?
Being technical consultant, my main area of expertise has always been BASIS.
What module of SAP did you chose to upskill in?
Upgrades, OS/DB migration, TDMS (test data migration server)
What were the deciding factors around your upskill?
Large scale and complex SAP solution landscapes require a high degree of expertise, especially during hardware or infrastructure migration and upgrade. Consultants with such expertise and knowledge of latest SAP technologies are often not readily available and remain in high demand. Therefore my focus has been to keep myself up-to-date with latest SAP offerings.
How did you undertake your study? Part time, full time, remote learning, face to face or on the job?
All of the above! As and when time permits or need arises and when certain courses become available in a convenient location, I prefer to attend those in a class room settings which not only provide training but also an opportunity to have in depth face to face discussion with the instructor and other course participants on practical aspects of the topic in addition to what is covered in course material.
How did you go about juggling worklife, personal life and studying?
This has always been challenging. As a technical consultant, I need to work odd hours, week-ends, and public holidays in multiple geographical time zones. Having the capability to work remotely facilitates the balancing between personal, social and professional responsibilities.
What were the challenges you faced while upskilling?
The availability of requisite courses in local market is often the main challenge, sometime there is only one session a year which makes it hard to accommodate if you are in the middle of a project and unable to accommodate that time slot.
What do you believe the key benefits of upskilling are? Have you seen these benefits already?
Upskilling keeps you abreast with the market demand and allows you to gain more hands on experience across a broader range of customers. I have been associated with SAP Basis for nearly 20 years and have greatly benefited from keeping myself up to date with many SAP releases.
So there you have it. While it can be challenging to upskill, the results show that it is worth the time and effort. We would love to here if you yourself have upskilled and what tips you might have for those about to embark on the journey.