Huawei launched its digital skills development program LEAP. Announced at its ICT Competition Awards Ceremony, the LEAP aims to help promote the ICT skills of more than 100,000 people across the Sub-Saharan Africa region within three years.
LEAP which is an acronym for Leadership, Employability, Progress and Possibility, is intended to promote 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 ranging from ICT training and certification courses, government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.
When launching the program LEAPPresident of Huawei Southern Africa, Leo Chen highlighted the importance of ICT skills transfer and talent development and highlighted Huawei’s consistent emphasis on the same.
“Digitalization is deeply rooted in people. Because we digitize for people and by people. When the roots are deep, there is no need to fear the wind,” he said. “Through the program, we strive to cultivate more young ICT leaders, who can explore more possibilities for themselves, their families, their communities and ultimately their nations.”
Nas últimas duas décadas, a Huawei ajudou avançar as competências TIC em mais de 80 000 pessoas em toda a região. Ao fazê-lo, ajudou aumentar a empregabilidade dos jovens e a colmatar a lacuna entre os sexos na indústria das TIC´s. A própria Huawei é um empregador de eleição na região. As suas filiais em 9 países da África Sub-Sariana ganharam o selo Top Employer (Empregador principal) em 2021.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ms. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of South Africa, said “It is necessary that you, as participants in the LEAP, Seeds for the Future and the Huawei ICT Academy Program, take us into the future. Covid 19 has taken us into the digital age, but we shouldn’t need a pandemic to do this in the future, we need to be deliberate and intentional to help our countries. We need to innovate, support local innovators, and promote our own platforms across the continent to scale and grow our economies. We are only bigger when our market is bigger, and we have to walk together. ”
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Tanzania, Prof. Eliamani Sadoyeka highlighted that the power of ICT should never be underestimated. “ICT has given us almost equal access to knowledge. When a young mind is switched on, a village girl in Africa will have the same access to knowledge as a boy in Copenhagen,” he said. He also touched on the fact that Africa’s future lies in the hands of its young population and urged students to make full use of all learning opportunities. He praised Huawei for its ICT Academy which is giving young people the platform and skills in the latest technologies, as well as the opportunity to live to their fullest potential.
John Chrysestom Muyingo, Minister of Higher Education in the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports stated: “We have partnered with Huawei on initiatives such as Seeds for the Future, ICT Competitions through the Huawei ICT Academies established in Uganda and over the years we have always We made a point of playing an active role in implementing digital reskilling initiatives in higher education institutions, including universities, across the country. We welcome this partnership, and are committed to strengthening this relationship. ”
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni weighed in on the event on Sunday, congratulating the Ugandan team at Makerere University and recognizing Huawei’s efforts in developing local digital talent, saying he looks forward to “its expansion to include more of our youth.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred digital adoption across Africa. This increases the demand for more digital skills and talent. According to a World Bank study on Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.
This makes programs like LEAP even more critical. The Huawei ICT Competition is one of the important components of Huawei’s talent development efforts.
More than 15,000 students from over 200 universities and colleges across Sub-Saharan Africa participated in the 2021-2022 Huawei ICT Competition. Of the 48 competing teams, the Nigerian and Kenyan teams won first prize in the regional final. Teams from Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania claimed second prize.
“The Huawei ICT Competition provided students like me with a network of industry trainers, instructors and learning tools, allowing us to gain a competitive advantage and engage with other students on a global stage,” said Ashtone Onyango, a member of winning team from Kenya. “This is crucial for students, as it not only helps them improve their skills, but also increases their competitiveness in the job market.”
The South African team that reached the top ten of the 2021 Huawei Global Tech4Good Competition for designing an intrusion detection system that uses wireless and cloud technologies to curb rhino poaching has been honored with a Top Performance Award.
“The moment that made me most proud was knowing that of the 117 teams participating in the Tech4Good challenge worldwide, we were part of the top 10 and the only team from the African continent”, said Siyabonga Shandu, who was part of the intrusion detection system team of South Africa. “This demonstrates that we have the capacity and skills to create, innovate and build real African solutions to African problems”.
The Huawei TIC competition has become the largest competition of its kind in Africa and around the world. It offers a global stage for students to showcase and practice their ICT knowledge and skills. Over the past 5 years, 80,000 university students from Africa have registered for the competition, and more than 20 teams have participated in the global finals.
The program LEAP will be launched based on the company’s investment in the region and will see over 1,200 instructors facilitate 3,000 ICT courses. It will also fund a range of facilities including training centers, hardware installation bases, innovation centers, mirror laboratories, and ICT academies. Huawei currently has ICT academies in more than 300 universities and colleges in the region.
At the ceremony, Leo Chen also called for close collaboration between government, industry and academia to create an ecosystem to which everyone can contribute and from which everyone can benefit. The 2021 Huawei Award for Outstanding Global Talent Ecosystem Partner it was handed over to the South African Public Colleges Organization (SAPCO). Kenyatta University and Ahmadu Bello University received the Sub-Saharan Africa Best Performing Academy Award from the 2021-2022 Huawei ICT Competition.
