Huawei held the second annual conference of the ITB project for youth talent capacity building in Egypt

Cairo: Huawei Technologies, a world leader in information and communications technology solutions, cooperates with Egyptian Government and universities, through holding the second annual conference for its pioneering training program "ICT Talent Bank/ iTB". The conference was held in attendance of 100 university leaders including Portsaid, 6 October, Al Menoufia, MSA, 40 partners’ such as Afro, Actel, citex, Alandick, sigma, STS, Infort, Kolaly Technology, GTS, Toptech, IPLUS and recruiter company representatives, such as Telecom Egypt, Orange, Etisalat Misr, etc. Also, the event embraced a group of Huawei’s officials, headed by Mr. Tim Zhou, CEO of Huawei Egypt Carrier Business, as well as Eng. Yousry Atlam, CEO of Huawei Academy in Egypt.

This year’s Huawei ITB annual conference celebrated the top 200 graduation students, as well as honoring the young people who ranked with top places in the Huawei Technologies Global Competition in 2020. Additionally, the conference awarded the universities, trainers, experts who cooperated in developing the vision and mission of the program and the young talented graduates of the "ICT Talent Bank/ iTB" program.

As part of the conference celebrations, Port Said, 6th of October, Menoufia, MSA Universities won the Grand Prize as well as the universities of Suez, Mansoura, Zagazig, Canadian International College, Kafr El Sheikh, El Shorouk academy and Obour Institute won the first prize. Also, Suez Canal, Banha, Tanta, Aswan, Badr, Zewail City, and Al-Nahda Universities won the second prize. Besides, Ain Shams University represented Dr. Mahmoud Al-Matiny, President of the University, and MSA University represented by Dr. Nawal El-Degwy, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the university received the Excellence Award.

More than 22 experts from the National Telecommunication Institute were honored for their efforts made during last year's training where more than 400 professors from different Egyptian universities were trained on the latest technologies of Huawei. They were honored by Huawei and the President of the National Institute for Communication Dr. Iman Ashour.

During this event, Huawei announced iTB’s 2021 plan, and showcased the most important achievements of the program in 2020, which were carried out through prolific cooperation with various partners. Furthermore, the conference witnessed an important milestone which is the launch of the ITB website which is considered as a recruit portal to connect the talents with the ICT industry recruiters in Egypt and the region and a learning portal for talents by offering Huawei updated courses and certifications serving Egypt and Arab Countries. Also, materials are recorded by Egyptian Experts in cooperation with National Telecommunication Institute (NTI), which is under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT).

This celebration is deemed as an affirmation of the success of the extended cooperation between Huawei Technologies and the Egyptian government, with its various sectors, which encompasses uplifting the skills of the Egyptian young people, as well as providing them with all the means of support and training necessary to develop their technological capabilities. All of that comes in line with the digital transformation strategy that is part of Egypt's 2030 vision, which is believed to give the country a prompt to become a leader in technology in the Middle East and North Africa Region.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology participated in the second annual conference organized by Huawei Technologies Egypt to honor the second batch of its ICT Talent Bank program. Engineer Ghada Labib, Deputy Minister of Communications for Institutional Development on behalf of Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology held a speech and praised the efforts done by Huawei in building the capabilities of Egyptian youth and stressed that building a digital Egypt can only be done by empowering the Egyptian youth digitally, through various initiatives to support digital inclusion of citizens of different segments.

Labib indicated that the idea of ​​ICT Talent Bank is a significant idea, reflecting the importance of cooperation between government sector, the private sector and civil society institutions in line with Egypt 2030 vision nurturing digital talent in the ICT sector and enhancing employment opportunities and equipping them for future job requirements.

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research witnessed the second annual conference of its ICT Talent Bank program in the presence of a representative from the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research - Dr. Hisham Farouk, Assistant Minister pertinent to digital transformation. He said,  ”This commendable effort from Huawei will play a pivotal role in the adaptation of technology to achieve technological development and close the digital gap and this is what the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is committed to achieve. "

Moreover, a delegation from the ministry of Manpower headed by Mr. Hussein Sabri, advisor to the ministry for digital transformation took part in the conference and the participation came within the framework of the ministry’s endeavor for supporting digital transformation, investing in human minds and providing them with job opportunities; hence, supporting the digital economy.

Sabri stated that the ministry is looking forward to expand its cooperation with Huawei Egypt in the field of training and qualifying Egyptian youth. He further praised the international training methods used, expressing his desire to use the same methods in the Ministry's vocational training centers, to improve the training content to be aligned by with the international standards needed by the global labor market.

Mr. Tim Zhou, CEO of Huawei Egypt CNBG said, “I would like to express my elation towards the cooperation with our partners in success for empowering young Egyptian carders. This program is also believed to enhance the role of the digital transformation and will also offer job opportunities to the young graduates who enjoy competitive skills and capabilities. This will positively reflect on the performance and development of the ICT sector in Egypt. We, at Huawei, are well aware of the role that youth play in developing this sector, so we are endeavoring to stimulate the state’s strategies that strive to underpin the digital transformation in Egypt, within the framework of Egypt's 2030 vision and its determination to empower and enhance the potential of the young Egyptian cadres.”

Zhou added, “We believe that we have a tremendous societal responsibility, since we are a company that has been operating in the Egyptian market for more than 20 years. We are also avid believers in the necessity of investing in the communities in which we operate. Therefore, we see that youth are the energy and the main catalyst for achieving growth and prosperity in societies, and we aim to ensure bridging the gap between the requirements of the labor market and the capabilities that the graduates acquire. Not to mention that Huawei is committed together with its partners and Egyptian government to build ICT Talent pool, to contribute for building a healthy ICT eco-system, benefit for the digital transformation.

From his part, Eng. Yousry Atlam, expressed his elation with the graduation of a new generation of talented Egyptian youth, who would be able to conquer the labor market while wielding what they have been trained on in the iTB program. He reiterated that this program aims to develop the capabilities and skills of young people in the communications and information technology sector.

Yousri also added: “The iTB program consists of three phases. The first phase is 'Access', which aims to communicate with students and recent graduates in various Egyptian universities, while the second phase focuses on 'training', and then comes the third phase, which is the most important one, as it is all about 'employment', and it is designed to provide job opportunities for students and distinguished talents at Huawei or any of the companies operating in the communications and information technology sector. This will contribute to bridging the digital gap in the labor market as a result.”

The conference has also witnessed the graduation of 200 trainees from the “ICT Talent Bank/ iTB” program in 2020. Also, a documentary was shown that recounted the most prominent achievements of the iTB program during the year of 2020.

It is worth mentioning that Huawei Academy has established 62 academies at 33 Egyptian public and private universities. In addition, Huawei provided job opportunities through its first virtual employment fair; “HiRE 2021”, as well as launched a website that works to connect the iTB program’s graduates to the distinctive companies; whether operating or not in the communications and information technology sector.

It is noteworthy that Huawei launched the “ICT Talent Bank/ iTB” program in October 2019. The idea of this program was stemming from Huawei's strategy that revolves around providing opportunities for the young and the distinguished Egyptian talents in the world of communications and information technology. Huawei is determined to achieve the previous by refining the talents of this Egyptian youth, then providing them with training programs pertinent to innovation and the latest technologies, so as to prepare those cadres for the local and the foreign labor markets.

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© Press Release 2021