New SAP course at Victoria's Holmesglen

Gordon Peters
Monday, 18 October 2010 01:56

IT People - People

SAP Australia and Victoria's Holmesglen Institute have instituted a new SAP-focused bachelor of information technology degree to address what they say is a gap in the market for graduates with SAP knowledge and practical on-the-job experience.

Under the new degree, students will have the option of completing an IT diploma through the Institute in 18 months as well as the opportunity to continue on for an additional two years to complete the full bachelor of information technology.

The course will be made up of 16 subject units, 10 of which will be SAP-focused covering SAP products from the front-end user benefits through to the construction of the database design. Each intake will specialise in one particular area such as HR and payroll, supply chain and logistics, customer relationship management or financial services.

Holmesglen Institute course leader, Sharon Berman, said the institute saw a gap in the education sector and she believes that the course could be the first of many to roll out in Australia.

'SAP software runs a significant proportion of Australia's GDP.  There are more and more SAP projects coming online and a great need for people with business analyst skills with a strong practical knowledge of SAP and it's important that correctly targeted courses are available locally to fuel the skills need in Australia.'

Berman said that, towards the end of the degree course, Holmesglen will also be offering relevant industry placements in the specific verticals for 14-16 weeks within companies who run SAP software, offering students on the job training and delivering a fully rounded degree. Industry placements will include supervised assessments where students are monitored to ensure the placement is a valuable addition to the course.

SAP ANZ vice president field services & support, Mark Hettler, said 'we at SAP, think this is a fantastic initiative of Holmesglen. SAP skills shortages are a global issue and it's great to see a vocational provider leading the way and taking this on locally in Australia.

Berman said Holmesglen is already filling placements for the intake, due to start in February 2011 with maximum capacity expected to be 25 students. The second intake will be in July 2011.