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Huawei South Africa has hosted its second Information and Communication Technology (ICT) job fair for Huawei ICT academy graduates, simultaneously boosting the country’s tech skills and helping to create youth employment for the fourth-industrial-revolution – as prioritised by national government.

The ICT talent shortage is an international challenge, and initiatives like the job fair are part of the Huawei ICT Talent Ecosystem, which aims to address this. The global programme sees Huawei collaborate with education and training institutions, industry associations and partners to build a platform for sustainable ICT skills development to bridge the digital divide and unleash society’s full potential for industrial innovation.

The 2019 ICT job fair also aligns with the goals of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to maximise ICT investment, to accelerate socio-economic development and facilitate the building of an inclusive information society.

The event gives Huawei partners a platform to meet and interview university students who have passed through Huawei programmes, with an eye to identifying talent and offering them internships and possibly a job at the end of their term.

The fair attracted significant interest from university students from various academic institutions, while also facilitating dialogue and efficient talent selection for enterprises.

“It is Huawei’s vision to bring digital to every individual, home and business, for a fully connected, intelligent world and to create new opportunities for inclusive growth,” said Maison Mei, Director of the Huawei South Africa Enterprise Delivery and Service Department. “In this context, ICT is key to any country's economic development, and the South African government has shown a commitment to building its skills base in the sector.”

Mei encouraged programme participants to be ambassadors for Huawei and to encourage more students and institutions to take part in future programmes. He praised partner companies who had offered opportunities to promising graduates of the Huawei training programmes, giving them the experience required to bridge the gap between academia and the real-life workplace.

Among the companies at the jobs fair was Mecer Inter-Ed, a Huawei Authorized Learning Partner (HALP).

“As a proud HALP, we are thrilled to have been a part of the 2019 Huawei ICT Academy Job Fair, helping Huawei build a talent ecosystem for the ICT industry,” said Anneline van Rooyen, sales and marketing executive at Mecer Inter-Ed. “We look forward to an even better 2020, delivering the highest-quality Huawei training and certification.”

Forty students participated in the job fair, showcasing their skills and qualifications and applying for the ICT jobs offered by Huawei and its partner enterprises.