Edwin Naidu | April 7, 2025
According to Dr Noble Nkabane, Minister of Higher Education and Training, South Africa must be cautious about promoting digital transformation to achieve youth unemployment and an inclusive economy.
“As we navigate the 4th Industrial Revolution and work towards sustainable economic growth, the partnership between the Ministry of Higher Education and Huawei has never been more important,” she told the Huawei ICT awards ceremony in Johannesburg.
Welcoming representatives and students from higher education institutions in South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar, Nkabane praised their unwavering commitment to supporting skills development in South Africa.
“In fact, this is perfectly in line with the priorities of the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) to promote inclusive economic growth and job creation, reduce poverty, reduce high living costs and build a competent, ethical and developmental state.”
The Minister said that since South Africa's Huawei was established in 1999, it has played a pivotal role in the country's rapid development by supporting the growth of its ICT infrastructure. At the same time, Huawei has also implemented a variety of talent training programs in recent years.
Some of the more catalytic programs Huawei operates in South Africa include 4IR training, SMME digital skills conversion training, Huawei ICT Academy, and Huawei ICT contest. These programs have already benefited more than 24,000 South Africans over the past three years.
Since September 2016, Huawei has established ICT Academy in collaboration with various public universities, TVET colleges and private universities, and currently counts 76 institutions in the PSET sector. After training through the academy, more than 26,000 students from the PSET system have participated in the sport.
In August 2024, the department signed a written cooperative agreement with Huawei and the Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology on TVET Curriculum Transformation. The partnership aims to promote innovation in ICT-related courses at TVET institutions in South Africa, making it more relevant to the job market and thereby increasing the employment potential of TVET College students.
Nkabane said that in this respect, Community Education and Training (CET) universities should be included in the program.
She said in September 2024 President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Huawei Headquarters in Shenzhen in September 2024 when he visited the People's Republic of China. In November 2024, during her practice visit to China, she was hosted by Huawei at the Beijing Research Center.
“I was impressed with Huawei's technological advancements, including, among other things, innovation in the design of electric vehicles, an integral part of the skills and capabilities required for the energy transition.
“We hope to continue to work with Huawei in more extensive collaboration in talent training, smart campus construction and other projects in the future.
Recognizing the importance of the African continent, and more specifically the SADC region, in such cooperation, Nkabane said 2024 will be declared the year of African education by the AU head of state, allowing the continent to rethink Africa's conductor of education and skills.
“We are pleased that Huawei has deliberately invested in the African continent. We believe these efforts will help implement the continental framework, including achieving the aspirations of AU Agenda 2063,” she said.
This year, South Africa became G20 president.
“We are using the G20 to strengthen our partnerships in the fields of ICT and artificial intelligence. This is why South Africa has established the G20 Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance and Innovation for Sustainable Development,” she said.
“The G20 Education Working Group, co-chaired by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Basic Education, has identified priorities such as mutual recognition of qualifications and skills in a global context.”
The minister said ICT skills are important from the basics of education to post-educational education in schools, and the working group will also focus on ensuring that educational professionals such as lecturers and teachers are not ignored, but have the skills to teach students.
Yang Yongpeng, director of the Human Resources Department for the Huawei Southern Africa region, said the world is currently undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation.
“Digital technology not only changed the way we live, it also created new opportunities and challenges for education, the economy and society. The possibilities of the digital economy in Africa in particular are enormous. The African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 clearly states that by 2030, Africa will achieve comprehensive digital transformation and that the digital economy will drive Africa's economic growth.
Yongpengnot, however, said that the existence of digital disparities remains a critical issue for Africa and the world.
“Our common responsibility is that more people enjoy the dividends of this digital technology. As a leading provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei is committed to promoting digital inclusion through innovation and telecom collaboration.
From the perspective of ICT competition, he said that Huawei has been working with universities around the world since 2013 to establish the Huawei ICT ecosystem. By the end of 2024, Huawei had partnered with over 3,000 universities around the world to cover over 110 countries and train more than 11 million students.
To date, Huawei has established 500 ICT academies in the Southern Sahara Africa region, with over 35,000 students.
For example, in 2024, nearly 500 Huawei career certified students, with 550 academy students secured employment with Huawei and their partners.
“These numbers not only demonstrate Huawei's strong commitment to fostering digital talent in Africa, but also lay a solid foundation for Africa's digital future. Huawei's ICT competition is a key initiative of the Huawei ICT Academy.”
This competition sets a wide range of stages for young Africans to demonstrate themselves and pursue their dreams. Many young Africans have achieved great success in the global finals of previous competitions and have successfully participated in Huawei.
Juvenna Hamutu-Salumu, a young Tanzanian woman and winner of the 2023 ICT competition, has joined Huawei as an outstanding female engineer. Nigerian Allie Reissa, who won the first prize at the Global ICT Competition Finals, has won over 20 Huawei certificates. He joined Huawei and became Product Solutions Manager for the Nigeria Lloyd Office.
“Through the competition, we have seen the possibilities of digital technology for young teachers and students in Africa. It is the endless possibilities of the digital future in Africa. In Africa, digital inclusion, a land of hope, has a special and widespread importance,” Yongpen said.
“We will continue to endure our commitment to Africa and continue to build close partnerships with African governments, institutions of higher education and businesses, and we will work together to promote digital talent development programs that support digital transformation in Africa.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
