The Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to cooperate in developing local talent within the technology domain, supporting the Kingdom’s digitization goals outlined in Vision 2030.
Held during LEAP 2022, the MoU was signed between SDA CEO Mohammed Alsuhaim and deputy CEO of Huawei in Saudi Arabia Steven Liu, in the presence of HE Eng. Haytham AlOhali, vice minister of communications and information technology, Eng. Faris AlSaqabi, deputy minister for future jobs and capabilities, Shunli Wang, vice president of Huawei Middle East, and Eric Yang, CEO of Huawei.
The two organizations will work together on the launch of new projects within the Huawei ICT academy program that involves building a talent supply chain covering the entire process of learning, certification, and talent promotion. Through such projects, SDA and Huawei aim to support 8,000 Saudi trainees through the Huawei ICT certification program. The two parties will also collaborate in upcoming editions of Huawei’s annual Middle East ICT competition, which in 2021 was run in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). SDA and Huawei further plan to collaborate in supporting the ‘Attaa Digital’ initiative, empowered by MCIT, including the delivery of trainings for Huawei HMS developers in the Kingdom.
Eric Yang, CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia, said, “Local talent is constantly required to drive digital transformation on a national level. Through partnerships like this with the Saudi Digital Academy, we are able to create an even stronger digital ecosystem that serves both recent graduates and ICT professionals, contributing towards the progress of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 which places a strong emphasis on the potential of the ICT sector.”
Expanding its own capabilities, SDA will engage Huawei in a variety of knowledge-sharing activities. The latest memorandum outlines plans for Huawei to train and certify 100 Saudi trainers from SDA through its Huawei Train the Trainer (TTT) program, focusing on areas such as AI, cloud, security, data center and 5G. Huawei will also conduct a digital leadership camp for SDA and MCIT leaders.
In the area of job creation, SDA and Huawei have also confirmed an ambition to host a joint ICT job fair by the end of 2022 that expands opportunities for local talent in the Kingdom.
Mohamad Alsuhaim, CEO of Saudi Digital Academy, said, “SDA has a legacy of working with prestigious academic institutions and private sector leaders in the development of its programs. This memorandum with Huawei will open up new opportunities for Saudi digital talent to both develop cutting-edge skills and to be leaders of the future digital economy.”
