2,000 join Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Talent Forum

To explore the ICT talent trends and talent development strategies in the Asia Pacific region, Huawei Technologies hosted the Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Talent Forum 2020 on Tuesday. 

The theme of the event was "Connection, Glory, Future." More than 2000 participants joined the online event, reads a press release. 

The tech company revealed its long-term plan to bridge the ICT talent gap and called for a cross-sector collaboration at the forum.

The forum gathered industry experts and IT professors to discuss the continuing need for a highly-skilled ICT workforce, and proposed sustainable plans to help the region solve ICT workforce shortage. 

At the event, Huawei also announced its certification programme to develop a comprehensive ICT talent ecosystem to pave the way for sustainable digital transformation in the region. The certification programme is open to students and ICT practitioners who have joined or plan to join the Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Academy. 

The programme, that started on August 4, will continue till November 30. Participants who pass the exams in the shortest time will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the statement. 

"The foundation of the new ICT industry now consists of Cloud Computing, Big Data, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence," said Michael Macdonald, chief digital officer and executive consultant of Huawei Asia Pacific, at the event.  

He went on, "As enterprises redefine their job requirements, this new ICT landscape will leave us with an estimated shortage of about 5 million professionals. We aim to globally develop two million ICT professionals over the next five years to match the high demand for skilled workers." 

Macdonald said in 2020, the company is going to build more than 200 Huawei ICT Academy and train 10,000 ICT certification in the Asia Pacific region. 

"ICT talent ecosystem is Huawei's long-term strategy, and we will work with universities and local HALP partners to help students and ICT practitioners become more competitive in their careers," he added.   

As advanced technologies such as AI and 5G become pervasive, the region needs to work with various sectors to set standards that efficiently connect talent with opportunities in the digital age. 

To tackle this challenge, Huawei built a talent ecosystem to support the transfer of qualified employees to the ICT industry, in line with its talent cultivation strategy. The ecosystem consists of three initiatives: the Huawei Certification, the Huawei Academy and the Huawei ICT Competition, says the press release. 

The Huawei Certification, a talent system standard covering 100 certification exams and 22 technical fields, has certified more than 260,000 ICT students and employees, including 19,000 in the Asia Pacific region. 

Launched in 2013, the Huawei ICT Academy has involved over 900 higher education institutions to offer ICT courses and training for over 45,000 students each year. To date, the company has set up 103 ICT Academy in the Asia Pacific region.