SCALING UP SKILL DEVELOMENT ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES AMONG PDTP COHORT V
Huawei has committed to provide training to 377 PDTP cohort V trainees under its partnership with ICT Authority. The 5 week virtual training that kicks off on February 22nd- March 26th 2021 will provide courses on Networking, Cloud and AI. 246 trainees’ will pursue the Network Path while 131 students will take the Cloud and AI path.
The Networking course will cover the principles of routing and switching, basic WLAN and network security and management among others. In addition to the introduction to Cloud and AI, the course will cover the algorithms and development practices related to traditional machine learning, deep learning and development framework. Huawei will offer its HCIA Certification to all students in this program after completion.
In the recent past, there has been rapid deployment of various advanced and emerging technologies including IoT, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud and as a result a new set of skills is required. Additionally, building capacity and skills necessary for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is critical for Kenya and the continent at large to embrace digital transformation.
ICT Authority has prioritized ICT skill development among youth to cater to the ever growing demand of competent ICT specialists and engineers while ensuring that they can compete equally with counterparts from across the globe, whilst taking advantage of the ever increasing opportunities presented.
The PDTP training is aimed at addressing the skill gap by building capacity and developing local ICT skills and talent while equipping the trainees with knowledge on cutting edge technology paramount for the 4IR.
The training will be conducted by certified Huawei trainers, with the students having access to training resources including MOOCs and e-Labs. Trainees who will complete the training successfully will receive HCIA Datacom v1.0, HCIA- Cloud Computing v4.0 and HCIA AI v3.0 certifications.
During the kick off meeting, Fiona Pan, Huawei’s Deputy CEO Public Affairs, noted that Huawei will continue to support development of local ICT talent. She also added that investing in Kenya’s digital skills training is not only part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, but is also our duty as an organization to work together with the government and other stakeholders to address the skill gap.
Huawei remains committed to forging partnerships that seek to empower and educate the next generation. This has been achieved by developing and providing digital skills training programs with focus on scaling up skill development. The training not only focuses on advanced technologies such as AI, Cloud, IoT but also on basic digital literacy under the Huawei Digitruck program.
Since 2015, Huawei has been supporting the Digitalent program providing private sector internships, mentorship and training in addition to the annual innovation awards. To date over 1000 trainees have received training and certifications. In 2018, the PDTP Huawei Training was conducted at Zetech University and in 2019 at Kenyatta University courtesy of the Huawei ICT Academy Program. This year, the training and certification will be conducted fully online.