The Hidden Skills Gap: Why 80% of SAP Learners Never Become Consultants

SAP is an extremely popular way to manage many different functions of a large company through its enterprise resource planning software. It helps from planning to logistics management and many other parts of the company. 

Due to this popularity, many people enroll in SAP training programs each year, hoping to become SAP consultants. However, there is a shocking statistic that states that 80% of SAP students who have learned SAP will not ever enter into SAP consulting. 

What causes so many SAP trainees to fail to reach their stated goals? The cause lies in an unnoticed gap between the skills they develop during training and the actual skills they need to successfully begin their new consulting career. 

In this blog, we will see the Hidden Skills Gap and Why 80% of SAP Learners Never Become Consultants.

The top reasons why SAP learners never become SAP consultants

1. Theoretical Learning Only 

Most SAP training programs are highly focused on teaching students theory. Most trainees will be taught how to use modules such as FICO, MM, SD, and HCM as well as the theory behind the concepts, configuration and terminology used within those modules as part of their training. 

While this type of knowledge is critical to the job of a SAP consultant, it is not sufficient for most students to effectively transition into SAP consulting after completing their training. 

SAP consulting does not involve simply knowing definitions; it involves solving problems that exist within an organization using SAP tools by working within an actual context which is what the majority of students fail to do before entering the SAP consulting market. 

When SAP consultants are faced with interviews/employment, many of them will have strong theoretical knowledge but will lack the experience of real-time scenarios, system navigation and project implementation experiences as they were limited in those areas during their training. As a result, many students entering the SAP consulting space will find it difficult to transition their theoretical knowledge into meaningful and effective solutions for their customers.

2 Not having hands-on Services 

The largest deficit is access to actual SAP systems. Most learners will only ever use demo environments or images when being trained. By contrast, in real consulting jobs, professionals work directly with various live system integrations that are complex in nature, and even a small mistake can have a huge impact on the business operation.

Applicants who do not have practical knowledge and understanding of the data migration, configuration, and processes, and are not able to handle errors and troubleshooting.

They are not adequately prepared to perform actual consulting work. Employers will frequently turn away candidates who are unable to show that they can navigate and solve problems in real-time.

3. The biggest area where there is a gap is business process understanding

SAP consultants do not just use the technical side of SAP; they also bridge the gap between technical and business. Unfortunately, almost all learners only focus on how to use the software products; they do not look into the actual business processes.

A SAP FICO Consultant needs to understand accounting workflows, financial reporting and other related concepts. 

Without this understanding of business processes, learners will not develop effective SAP solutions and, therefore, will be unqualified for consulting work.

4. A Difficult Time Problem Solving 

In an SAP Project, problems do not typically come with a guide on how to solve them. It is the consultant’s job to analyze the problem, may have to look at where the problem originated and then provide a quick party to the problem. 

The problem arises because learners have been trained in a classroom or other educational setting where they are provided with a step-by-step guide (or similar; all answers already exist). When faced with open-ended questions during interviews/client interviews or when working with a current client, learners do not have the tools to figure out how to provide an answer. 

The lack of independent problem-solving and critical thinking skills is one of the biggest reasons that candidates are unable to transition into careers as SAP consultants. 

5. No project experience in the real world 

The second largest reason for this gap is the absence of real-world project experience. SAP Consulting is project-oriented (meaning who works on projects to: Implement, Upgrade, Rollout, and Support projects). 

By only taking classroom or online courses, a learner does not have the exposure to the following that someone with real-world experience will have: gathering requirements from customers, documenting (BRD, FRD, test cases), working within a team, and whether you are using Waterfall or Agile methods as a Project. 

The above examples make a learner appear as incomplete for those recruiters who are looking to hire SAP consultants. 

6. A Lack of Consulting and Communication Skills 

In order for someone to become a successful SAP consultant, it is not enough to have only technical knowledge. Consulting requires communication skills as well. 

As a consultant, clients must communicate with each other to verify the understanding of the client’s requirements, provide a solution, and, depending on the consultant’s position, train their end-users on the use of the client systems (after implementation). Many times those learners with a technical background find it difficult to: Explain their idea clearly, write clearly and professionally.

7 Unrealistic Expectations of Careers in SAP 

SAP training can provide you with an understanding of how to use or implement SAP applications but it can also lead you to believe that SAP jobs are plentiful, offer fast entry into the industry, and have high salaries. However, the deployment of SAP products is highly competitive and not only does it take time, effort, and patience to successfully get into SAP careers, but it also takes time, effort, and patience to develop your skills to be able to successfully compete for SAP jobs. 

When learners enter SAP training and do not see results immediately, they give up or quit their SAP career. This mindset about getting an SAP job is one of the primary reasons that 80% of learners drop out or do not complete SAP training. 

8 The Myth of a Certification 

While certification is important, it is not as valuable in itself. Candidates who have SAP certifications, the same as you, who have no work experience with SAP, will have an advantage over you because they will have experience working with SAP. 

Employers prefer real-world experience over certificates, and this is something that learners need to understand as they move along the path of entering the SAP consulting profession. 

Blockquote 

“SAP consulting is not about memorizing concepts—it is about applying knowledge to solve real business problems in live systems.”

Summary 

The difference in being able to move from SAP training to SAP consulting is not due to intelligence; it is due to being ready to enter the SAP consulting profession. The 80% of learners who do not become SAP consultants are not lacking intelligence; they are lacking practical experience working in the SAP applications and in understanding business principles and being able to solve real-world problems. 

NextNow is a top SAP institute that provides the highest quality SAP certification courses. The courses are being provided by the top professionals and industry-experienced workers. Feel free to know more about the courses. 

Contact details 

Company name – Nextnow 

Phone no – +1 365-341-2985

Email ID – admin@nextnow.ca

Address – 2 County Court Boulevard, Suite 400, Brampton, ON, L6W 3W8, CANADA

Frequently Asked Questions 

Question 1: What is the reason for the failure of most SAP learners to become consultants? 

The main reason for the failure of many SAP learners to become consultants is that they do not have enough real-time project experience or practical exposure to SAP systems. 

Question 2: Is having theoretical knowledge about SAP enough to secure employment? 

You need to have the proper industry-based and real-world scenario to get a job in SAP. Theory will not help you in securing a job. 

Question 3: What is the main issue in people getting employed in the SAP field?

Applicants think only about theory and not about practical. You need to materialize the theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Question 4: Does having a SAP certification guarantee a job in SAP?

Having a SAP certification is not sufficient to get a job in SAP. You need to have experience with real-world scenarios.

Question 5: Why is having a good understanding of how businesses operate in relation to business process knowledge important to an SAP consultant? 

It is important to have a thorough knowledge of how businesses operate so that SAP consultants can match solutions with the actual operation of an organisation. 

Question 6: What soft skills are required of an SAP consultant? 

The ability to communicate effectively, problem-solving skills and understanding how to interact with clients. 

Question 7: What can learners do to increase their chances of becoming an SAP consultant? 

Learners can improve their chances of becoming an SAP consultant by working on live projects, practising their SAP system skills and improving their understanding of how businesses operate.