As the global economy begins to pick up, companies are starting to ramp up their hiring of new employees, and in particular, graduates. This is good news for university leavers but more than ever, companies are looking to recruit employees that already have some of the basic skills and experience of the role they are filling.

This can prove frustrating for those young people that didn’t do a vocational course or didn’t have training included as part of their degree, but it is also frustrating for employers who are seeking the best candidates to join their organisation.

One way round this is corporate training programmes. These are courses run by employers to give graduates the technical and practical experience they need alongside classroom training, which will provide them with the necessary skills to enter the workplace. They also enable graduates to get a feel for the company and role to see if it is the right fit for them, help them to build a network of peers and mentors – and there is even the possibility of a job at the end.

From an employer’s perspective, corporate training programmes provide a solution to attracting and training the best young talent in the specific way of the company – this is why we are seeing these types of courses growing in popularity around the world.

At the beginning of 2014, we launched the SAP Academy for Sales, a global training programme for young people hoping to begin a career in sales. The SAP Academy for Sales is a fast-paced nine month rotational programme designed to empower participants with effective selling and negotiation techniques, as well as other must-have business skills, to build the foundation for a successful sales career. In addition to local hands-on training in the field, networking opportunities and mentoring from top SAP executives and sales leaders, participants will head to SAP‘s state-of-the-art learning facility in California for in-depth classroom training.

The programme has already proven hugely popular with over 15,000 applicants globally. With an initial intake of 100 participants, 200 more are confirmed for 2014, with a second and third intake in June and August this year.

We’ve also had some great feedback from students on the course:

Ben Hefford, Academy Sales Executive from the UK: “With peers from over 29 different countries, the learning culture is focused on diversity. This is already helping with our networking skills and will ultimately enable us to work effectively in a global business environment.”

Elfina Valerio, Academy Sales Executive from the UK: “We are constantly working in teams with people from different countries, backgrounds and knowledge bases. This is helping to educate us on how to use each other's talents and skills. We are also being urged to bring our personal experiences into our learning and this is encouraging us to be more creative and compelling presenters.”

Major trends shaping today‘s workplace, including social media, bring your own device (BYOD), and consumeriation of IT, are all centred on the younger generation. Around the world, businesses that fail to bring young talent into the workforce will fall behind their competitors; most organisations seem to recognise this, hence the rise in corporate training programmes. For young people looking to take the next step after graduating, these programmes are set to propel them towards a successful career.