Huawei to help Ethiopia cultivate ICT talent

ADDIS ABABA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese hi-tech giant Huawei announced on Monday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ethiopia Jobs Creation Commission (EJCC) to cultivate the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) talent ecosystem in the east African country.

In a press statement sent to Xinhua, Huawei said under the MoU, the ICT ecosystem will help students and professionals get internationally recognized certification and develop better career paths in the telecom and IT sector.

Chen Mingliang, CEO of Huawei Technologies Ethiopia, said under the MoU agreement, the Chinese hi-tech giant will give various training on modern technological tools, according to the statement.

"Over the next three years, we plan to deliver courses on communications technologies, cloud computing, and enterprise network building for graduates, entrepreneurs, as well as professionals looking for opportunities abroad," Chen said.

According to the statement, there are plans to train and certify some 800 professionals in the first year.

Overall, in a three-year period around 4,000 individuals are expected to be trained in order to be competent professionals in the local and international labor market.

Nigussu Tilahun, EJCC Commissioner, said his organization appreciated the relevance of private sector actors like Huawei in building the capacity of the youth and job creation opportunities.

"The private sector is urgently needed in building the capacity of the youth and creation of job opportunities, especially in the IT and Technology sectors," Tilahun said.