The tech talent shortage is real. SAP developers are particularly hard to find, and even when external hiring succeeds, new developers need time to understand your specific business context. What if there was a way to accelerate both talent acquisition and business knowledge simultaneously?

Stadtwerke Munich (SWM) faced exactly this challenge in 2022. After successfully running an external recruitment bootcamp that integrated eleven career changers into their teams, they explored a complementary approach: reskilling internal employees. The result? Sixteen internal employees successfully transitioned to SAP ABAP development roles, combining deep business knowledge with new technical skills.

Here's how they made internal reskilling work – and what other organizations can learn from their approach.

The challenge: maximizing your talent strategy

SWM's IT transformation created a significant demand for SAP ABAP developers. The external market provided some solutions – their previous bootcamp with external career changers had been successful, with all eleven participants integrating well into SWM teams. But they realized something important: while external hires brought fresh perspectives and skills, their internal employees possessed something equally valuable - deep understanding of the business operations, customer needs, and organizational culture.

The question became: could they transform customer service representatives, billing specialists, and meter reading technicians into developers who truly understood both the technical requirements and business needs?

The solution: strategic reskilling with clear intent

SWM didn't just throw their people into a generic coding bootcamp. They designed a strategic reskilling program with specific outcomes in mind.

The selection process was rigorous. HR invested 5 hours per candidate in tests and interviews, ultimately selecting 16 employees from diverse backgrounds. Some had been with SWM for over ten years and were ready for new challenges. The mix included customer center staff, billing service employees, and remote meter reading specialists.

The program was built around real needs. Based on a clearly defined role model and specific learning objectives, Brights helped develop a 14-week customized training program. The goal wasn't just to build developers – it was to build developers who understood SWM's operations and could think from the user's perspective.

Theory met practice immediately. The program combined hybrid learning (8 weeks onsite, 6 weeks online) with group tasks, mini-projects, and a final project where participants demonstrated their new skills on real challenges.

As Marius Regler, Head of IT Supply Management at SWM, noted: "It was great to see what our employees were able to learn and put into practice in such a short time."
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What made the difference: seven key success factors

Looking at what worked, several patterns emerge that other organizations can apply:

1. Hybrid implementation kept motivation high. The mix of onsite and online learning in a blended format maintained engagement throughout the 14-week journey.

2. Self-study days built independence. One day per week dedicated to self-directed learning strengthened participants' problem-solving skills and confidence.

3. Continuous support prevented dropouts. Brights dedicated program manager acted as the bridge between trainers, participants, and SWM stakeholders, ensuring issues were resolved quickly.

4. Self-assessment guided deployment. Toward the end of training, participants assessed their own strengths and weaknesses, helping SWM deploy them where they could add the most value.

5. Practice came first. Working directly on systems and realistic projects meant theoretical knowledge immediately became practical skill.

6. Multiple trainers brought real-world perspective. Different field practitioners enriched the training with varied experiences and approaches.

7. Peer learning accelerated progress. Study buddy groups provided both professional and personal support, making the learning journey more effective and enjoyable.

The strategic advantages of a balanced approach

SWM's internal reskilling strategy delivered unique benefits that complemented their external hiring efforts. Most significantly, it created developers who combined technical skills with deep business understanding. These weren't just new developers - they were developers who understood SWM's operations, challenges, and customer needs from years of experience. While external hires typically need months to understand business context, reskilled employees started with that knowledge and simply added technical capabilities, dramatically reducing their time-to-productivity.

The approach also strengthened the organization beyond just filling technical roles. Offering internal career transitions demonstrated real growth opportunities, boosting engagement and retention across the company. The shared learning journey created new networks and improved dynamics between teams that had previously worked in silos. Combined with their external hiring efforts, this diversified approach created multiple pathways to meet growing technical needs rather than relying on a single talent source.

What this means for your talent strategy

The SWM example illustrates an important principle: effective talent strategies often combine multiple approaches. External hiring brings fresh perspectives and immediate expertise, while internal reskilling leverages existing business knowledge and cultural fit.

Modern talent challenges require creative solutions. Organizations like SWM are proving that the most effective approach often involves building comprehensive talent strategies that leverage both external expertise and internal potential.

"Working with Brights has helped us to develop our internal talent and open up new career paths for them. The customised training in SAP ABAP Developer was a complete success and prepared our employees optimally for their new roles." – Marius Regler, Head of IT Supply Management, SWM

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