If you’ve been eyeing jobs in the corporate world, you have probably noticed that many companies prefer job candidates that have had some exposure to SAP software.

This is because these companies run on SAP and look to employ someone who can hit the ground running. So what should you do if you know nothing about SAP?

Kobus Olivier suggests that you get to grips with the basics of SAP. Olivier is the head of IT academic development at Boston City Campus & Business College. The College was voted best computer training college by The Star readers in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013  (Star Reader’s Choice Awards and offers various training options in IT. Boston is a Platinum class education partner of the Computing Technology Association (CompTIA) representing 89 countries globally).

“If you want to get into a company that uses SAP, the best thing you can do, is to learn what SAP is all about,” he said. “Knowing the basics about SAP is sure to increase your employability and give you a better chance against other job seekers – this applies to everyone and not just those that want to work in IT.”

He points out that since it was launched some 40 years ago in Germany, SAP has become one of the most commonly used enterprise software systems in the financial, service and process sectors in 130 countries. In South Africa, banks like Standard Bank and other financial giants as well as manufacturing and fuel companies such as Sasol use SAP. The software has different applications and levels of competence so the best starting point is to complete the introductory SAP 01 course which gives you an overview of what SAP is about and what business solutions it offers.

“We strongly recommend SAP 01 to individuals that want to get into a company that runs on SAP as well as to individuals whose companies plan to implement SAP in the near future,” says Olivier. “We will offer SAP 01 at our Boston City Campus & Business College campuses in Gauteng from January 2014 and from there we plan to roll out the SAP offering to the rest of our campuses nationwide in due course.”

The SAP 01 course provides an overview about SAP and the SAP products and solutions. It shows SAP’s main concepts, capabilities and benefits with specific focus on the following:

• Navigation
• Basic concepts
• Business processes in the SAP Business Suite, including SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SAP Customer Relationship Management, SAP Supply Chain Management, SAP Supplier Relationship Management, SAP Product Lifecycle Management
• SAP Solutions for small and midsize Companies
• SAP BusinessObjects
• SAP NetWeaver
• SAP Services

The course is provided on a special dongle, once students complete the necessary 30 hours they receive a certificate of completion. Students don’t need to pass any tests and there are also no assessments. The introductory course is ideal for people that already have a basic understanding of how business works; for example a student that has an academic qualification or someone that has work experience.

“Don’t confuse the SAP 01 course with your average IT course,” Olivier explained. “In the SAP 01 course you learn how SAP helps an organisation to run as efficiently as possible.” To find out if the SAP 01 course is suited to your needs, make an appointment to speak to a career advisor at the Boston City Campus & Business College campus in Orange Grove in Johannesburg or the campus in Arcadia, Pretoria. The course will kick off at these two selected campuses first.