Continuous training—in small steps to success
SAP systems have a huge advantage! The "core" is stable. Knowledge from the 90s is still useful and not obsolete. Of course there comes a but now, because around this core a lot has been added. Not only new systems in the cloud, but also many new techniques that you constantly encounter in an S/4 Hana project (Fiori, UI5, Hana, CDS Views, RAP and many more). Before this becomes an unmanageable mountain, we should start to walk it in many small steps. Fortunately, SAP has recognized the need for new, easily accessible ways - aside from the classic training offerings - to continuously expand knowledge.
The first thing that comes to my mind is open.sap.com. Now there were free high-quality online courses on all kinds of topics (development, S/4 Hana, process management, and many more). The courses were structured in such a way that you could acquire a wide variety of knowledge in around one hour per day over several weeks. There were even systems where you could try things out right away. Also, the courses were always available, so you could join later. One hour a day. That was often already done in the subway!
Then I am about developer.sap.com stumbled upon. There are many step-by-step guides. Starting with a small how-to, you could soon approach whole blocks of topics in a structured way. There were more practical examples here, fewer courses.
At some point, I noticed that the quality of the blogs in the SAP community had suddenly increased significantly. This was due to the fact that SAP developers began to bring new topics to the community in a structured way. Whether it was an SAP veteran like Horst Keller explaining the latest Abap functionality or Olga Dolinskaya approaching a complex topic like S/4 code migration over several posts. These blogs have often been an important part of my knowledge building.
In parallel with these activities, SAP has recognized the importance of an active community. The SAP Mentor Program supports individuals who are actively involved in shaping the SAP community. The best then become SAP champions. An illustrious group of around 20 people worldwide who actively share their knowledge with others! SAP also supports many partner companies in organizing events where knowledge is shared. We ourselves have already organized several Code Jams or even an SAP Inside Track. There, consultants and developers presented topics related to SAP. The beauty of it is that these are not promotional events. SAP does not present "fancy" slides on the latest topics, nor do companies advertise their products. It's simply about knowledge and the opportunity to exchange ideas.
The community is growing and growing. There are now many active people here who are among the cornerstones of knowledge about SAP. And fortunately there are more and more of them! Now it's up to us to "enable" our employees so that they commit themselves to permanent knowledge building and become actively involved in the SAP community. Even if it's just one of the monthly SAP get-togethers, where developers from a wide variety of companies meet on an ongoing basis to discuss the latest topics over a beer. In Vienna, by the way, it's always on the first Thursday of the month. Details can be found on the corresponding pages on community.sap.com.
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