Phnom Penh (FN), Nov. 8 – Huawei Cambodia - the local operations of the Chinese-based tech company – is investing in Cambodia’s rapidly developing and critically important information, communications, and technology (ICT) sector.

Referring to a Korn Ferry research study Huawei said that Asia Pacific is facing a labor shortage of 47 million people by 2030 and an annual opportunity cost of $4.238 trillion.

Adding, that according to PwC’s 20th CEO Survey, more than 50% of APAC CEOs say it’s difficult to hire digital talent with the right skills.

In response, the company has launched the first “Huawei ICT competition in Cambodia” with support from Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, and more than 10 local universities.

Students who join the competition will have a chance to obtain a certified professional certificate from Huawei and "have better opportunities to get the better job offer as well as better working conditions," the company said.

The competition first started in China in 2015 and expanded to overseas countries from 2016 onward, and has covered more than 90 countries, with more than 2,000 higher education institutes and approximately 60,000 students participating.

Since 2016, Huawei Cambodia has also cultivated more than 100 students in their corporate social responsibility flagship program “Seed for the Future” and recruited more than 30 new graduates to join the company every year.

Regionally the company has earmarked it would invest $50 million in the next five years to develop 500,000 digital talents in the Asia Pacific region according to president of Huawei Asia Pacific Jeffery Liu.

Ministers in the Royal Cambodian Government have spoken of their appreciation for Huawei Cambodia investing in the Kingdom's soft ICT infrastructure such as education and recruiting local employees into the company.

Chea Vandeth minister of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) said the rapid tech disruption and the Fourth Industrial Revolution coupled with the pandemic have prompted many countries, including Cambodia, to place more emphasis on digital economy development.

He added, “I have noticed that Huawei Cambodia has put tremendous efforts into the ICT cultivation projects, including the Huawei Certificate Program to train and certify ICT students and employees.”

According to the company’s recently released White Paper 2022 Digital Talent Insight the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation.

It stated companies and organizations in seeking skilled knowledge workers to meet the challenges brought by the rise of the digital economy, it becomes apparent that there remains a huge gap in digital talents across the Asia Pacific region.

Hong Chuon Naron, minister of education youth and sport (MoEYS) recognized Huawei’s contribution to ICT development and said the competition helps to promote ICT education, as well as encourage young people to improve their ICT skills and to foster 21st-century skill requirements.

“It [the competition] also enables efficient connections between industry and universities, especially to assist the students to develop the collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship mindset,” Chuon said.

Sovann Yao, CEO of Huawei Cambodia said the initiative will be a reliable and supportive partner for the universities and students to explore more about the latest technology, skill exchange, and enhance the hands-on skills for students including Cloud, AI, IoT, big data, and other cutting-edge technologies.

In addition, Huawei has highlighted plans to play a role in providing guidance and support following on from the recently launched “Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework of Cambodia 2021-2035” policy.

Sovann added that ICT technology will be a major driver in the country’s future economy under the “Cambodia Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035” framework.

The newly launched framework focuses on five major priorities: two foundations – developing digital infrastructure; and fostering digital trust and confidence, as well as three pillars – creating digital citizens; building the digital government, and promoting digital businesses.

To ensure transparency and privacy, Huawei Cambodia has said it puts good governance and corporate responsibility at the forefront. Adding, it ultimately wants to enable both government and other private companies to establish their own ICT networks using its technology.

Earlier this year Huawei was granted the first and only authorized cloud service provider in the Kingdom obtaining a “Consulting and Technical Service Certification License” authorized by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

In addition, the company is looking to improve the Kingdom’s internet infrastructure – such as the national broadband, 4G now and 5G in the future.

Huawei has provided communications products and services in Cambodia since 1999. Huawei Cambodia has provided cloud services to Cambodia market since 2020, which already has more than 15 local cloud partners and more than 50 local cloud customers.

=FRESH NEWS