Huawei expands digital skills training

On 28 June, Huawei announced a new initiative to train an additional 150,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years

This plan builds on the ICT leader's initial goal of equipping over 100,000 people in the region with digital skills by 2025. Huawei has already surpassed its initial target by 120%, training over 120,000 individuals in the past 26 months, ten months ahead of schedule. These announcements were made at the LEAP Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Huawei LEAP Summit 2024 took place on June 28th in Shanghai. LEAP stands for Leadership, Employability, Advancement, and Possibility. Co-hosted by Huawei and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), the event is an official partner program of Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2024. The LEAP Summit 2024 brought together over 200 guests, including high-ranking ministers, ambassadors, and other government officials from various Sub-Saharan African nations.

There is a significant need to equip talent in Sub-Saharan Africa with digital skills. According to the World Economic Forum, over one billion people globally need to be upskilled or reskilled by 2030. Furthermore, the International Financial Corporation estimates that over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.

In his opening address, Jeff Wang, senior vice-president and president of public affairs and communications at Huawei, outlined the company's inclusive, systematic, and future-oriented approach to talent development. He stated, "Huawei launched the LEAP Digital Talent Development Program in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2022. After more than two years of development, we are glad to see that so many people have benefited from it."

Hover Gao, president of Sub-Saharan Africa, Huawei, said, "We have made much positive progress in talent development across African countries, but this would not have been possible without the joint efforts of government agencies, academia, and industry."

John OMO, secretary general of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), emphasised a human-first approach to technology. He remarked, "Digital skills development and access to ICT is not about ICT, it's about people. It's about empowering people to participate sufficiently in the digital economy." OMO encouraged collective participation in upskilling to provide the youth with not only a future but also a present in which they can thrive.

The TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Initiative is a key pillar of Huawei's Corporate Sustainable Development strategies. During the summit, Joyce Liu, Director of TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Office at Huawei, shared the progress of TECH4ALL in Sub-Saharan Africa. She stated, "We must take a long-term perspective on how education can help shape a more inclusive and sustainable future, building connectivity for schools, improving capabilities for people and supporting STEM content development for digital upskilling and reskilling."

Huawei and its partners launched a series of activities for digital talent development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Steven Fan, the Director of Huawei's Training & Certification Department, unveiled the new Huawei Digital Intelligence Talent Development Program. This initiative includes free Huawei Certificate courses and exam vouchers for the Huawei ICT Academy and outstanding personnel.

Additionally, the Digital Badge program was announced, allowing students and teachers who have attended Huawei ICT Academy programs to display these certifications on their social media platforms and use them to unlock future employment opportunities.

Huawei launched its Leadership, Employability, Advancement, and Possibilities (LEAP) digital skills development program in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. The program aims to foster strong digital leadership and a skilled ICT workforce, build a digital talent pool, and promote digital literacy among citizens. It includes a wide range of activities, from ICT training and certification courses to government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.