Accra, May 18, GNA – Huawei has launched its Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibilities (LEAP) digital skills development programme and committed to developing more than 100,000 ICT talents for the sector.
It said the programme was aimed at fostering strong digital leadership and a skilled ICT workforce, building a digital talent pool and promoting digital literacy among citizens.
It would include a wide range of activities spanning from ICT training and certification courses, government digital capacity building, Women in Tech digital literacy drive and ICT skills competitions.
Launching the LEAP programme in Ghana at its maiden ICT Job Fair, Huawei Southern Africa Vice President, Yang Chen stressed the importance of ICT skills transfer and talents development and underlined Huawei’s consistent emphasis on it.
“Digitization is deeply rooted in people. Because we digitize for people and by people. When roots are deep, there is no need to fear the wind,” he said, and that “Through the programme, we strive to cultivate more youth leaders in ICT for Ghana, who can explore more possibilities.”
Yang Chen said since the introduction of the Huawei ICT Academy in Ghana, Huawei has helped advance the ICT skills of more than 7,000 university students through professional ICT Certification courses to prepare them for industry.
“About 50,000 women have also benefitted from the women in tech digital literacy programme. These initiatives coupled with others including the seeds for the future and professional ICT skill workshops for civil servants and industry partners has helped increase youth employability and bridge the gender gap in the ICT industry,” he stated.
Mr Tommy Zhou, the Managing Director of Huawei Ghana highlighted Huawei’s commitment to Ghana regarding the LEAP initiative.
He reiterated Huawei’s preparedness in achieving the set targets, saying “These commitments are not just words. They are possible because we have invested a lot into teacher education, training facilities and content development, with over 3,000 courses under five catalogs, spanning from 5G, AI, Cloud and IoT, to big data and cyber security accessible to Ghanaian Students.”
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation said, “The Digital Transformation Agenda of government aims at harnessing the power of technology to transform the economy and ensure that everyone enjoyed the benefits associated with digitalisation, and no one is left behind.
“This calls for equipping young people as well as motivating individuals across the digital divide with the digital skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.”
She commended Huawei for the initiative adding that, “Employment creation through direct jobs and entrepreneurship in ICT is part of the focus of the digitalisation agenda, hence the launch of the Huawei LEAP initiative through the Huawei ICT Job Fair fits into the digital transformation strategy of the Government, thus necessitating the full backing and cooperation of Government and the industry players.”
Mr John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education said technological advancement continued to reshape the world and countries that do not embrace it would be left behind.
“It is therefore important that as a country, we prioritize STEM education to take advantage of the numerous benefits it presents to both the citizens and the economy as a whole.”
On the Ministry’s partnership with Huawei he noted, “We are currently working with Huawei through their ICT Academy initiative to include their Professional ICT Certified Courses as part of the TVET Training.
“We are also in discussion with some Universities and Tertiary institutions to embed the Huawei Certifications in their curriculum especially for students in engineering and the sciences. We hope that through these initiatives, our students will graduate with the necessary skills needed by industry to increase their job opportunities and even help them create jobs for themselves and others.”
Mr Bright Wireko-Brobby, the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations expressed his satisfaction with ICT Job Fair and commended Huawei for the initiative.
He said “The Huawei ICT Job Fair which is the first of its kind surely could not have come at a better time. As a government, we are keen on providing employment for the youth while equipping them with the resources needed to also be able to start up their own businesses.
He urged the students present at the Huawei ICT Job Fair to embrace the opportunity saying, “Consider today as your leap into the Ghana’s working class. You have one foot in the door and such as your mentality and attitude should reflect same.”
More than 300 final year students from 16 universities across Ghana participated in the maiden Huawei Ghana ICT Job Fair, which had up to 200 jobs up for grabs from top ICT industry players.
Organisations like National Information Technology Agency (NITA Ghana), Vodafone Ghana, AirtelTigo and Ghana Meteorological Agency were all present to recruit ICT Talents.
GNA