Huawei building one of SA’s most visible ICT talent ecosystems

by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG – Huawei is building one of South Africa’s most visible information and communications technology (ICT) talent ecosystems.

This comes as the country sharpens its focus on economic growth, digital inclusion and future-facing skills.

Almost 37 000 participants have been reached in the past two years through the company’s digital skills training and industry-readiness programmes.

This effort aligns closely with national digital development priorities, as outlined in the South Africa Digital Infrastructure Investment Study 2025 by the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the National Planning Commission.

It sets out investment and policy conditions needed to support inclusive digital transformation through 2035. Within that framework, digital skills, affordability and institutional coordination are recognised as critical enablers, reinforcing the need for a stronger pipeline of local capability.

Christina Naidoo, Chief Operating Officer of Huawei South Africa, said the company’s operations and investments locally are aligned with national priorities, which is why digital skills and talent development remain a key focus.

“We are working with government, academia and the wider innovation ecosystem to help build the capability the country needs for inclusive and sustained digital growth,” she said.

Through engagements linked to Girls in ICT and its annual Women in Tech initiative, Huawei has prioritised women’s participation. Co-hosted with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), the Department of Employment and Labour and the Department of Small Business Development, Women in Tech 2025 built on a programme that has trained more than 300 women in South Africa since 2021, with the latest cohort receiving advanced training in 5G, AI, cloud and leadership.

Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, Director-General of the DCDT, said: “Access is not yet equal, but technology can be far more impactful when applied purposefully.”

She was speaking at the Women in Tech event.

“We have seen this in our country. We cannot achieve this vision alone, which is why collaboration with partners like Huawei is so important,” Jordan-Dyani said.

Huawei ensures this ecosystem is inclusive across different levels of education and access.

DigiSchool, aimed at primary school learners, reached 6 200 participants in 2025, helping build early familiarity with technology and widening exposure to digital tools and learning.

That foundation extended through 4IR training and the Huawei ICT Academy, which reached a combined 7 082 youth participants, opening pathways into areas such as AI, networking, cloud and innovation.

Focus has shifted towards supporting the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ICT curriculum transformation.

The Huawei ICT Academy has been established in 47 TVET colleges, 25 universities and universities of technology, seven private colleges and two training organisations.

Huawei’s LEAP (Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibility) programme is designed to bridge the digital skills gap in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing comprehensive training and resources.

The company has reached over 18 000 participants in South Africa in 2025 alone, while also training customer engineers, partners and subcontractors to strengthen technical capability in the market.

Code4Mzansi, a new Huawei Cloud developer competition run with the Department of Small Business Development and academic partners, drew 353 teams and 1 041 participants, bringing students, start-ups and young developers into a live environment to build, test and refine solutions using Huawei Cloud tools, mentorship and product support.

Meanwhile, speaking at the launch of the CIDB Centre of Excellence at Walter Sisulu University recently, Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela described South Africa’s “contradiction between skills shortages and unemployment” as “one of the most urgent challenges we face.”

– CAJ News