Huawei steps up drive for Kenyan talent
Huawei Kenya has upped the tempo of absorbing more Kenyan technology professionals by kicking off its national recruitment drive as its business continues to grow requiring additional local talent.
The firm announced that it had 35 positions on offer and a further 15 positions with its partners that will involve placing both interns and permanent staff.
Speaking during this year’s edition of the annual Huawei Kenya Job Fair in Nairobi, Fiona Pan, the Huawei Eastern Africa Deputy CEO Public Affairs said that the ICT sector continues to register remarkable growth and that demand for qualified technology professionals across all productive sectors will remain high for the foreseeable future.
Ms. Pan elaborated in her welcome remarks that “Huawei remains committed to providing technology training and hiring the best talent and that is why today we have organized this job fair to expose University students to the opportunities that are available for those who wish to pursue careers in ICT.”
In a speech read on his behalf, Principal Secretary Amb. Simon Nabukwesi at the State Department for University Education and Research, Ministry of Education, highlighted the recent statement from the Commonwealth Ministers Meeting held in Nairobi that declared: “Urgent consideration must be given to rethink an education fit for an accelerated technological era.” He continued: “That is why we are committed to supporting our educational institutions to improve their incorporation of digital skills into their curricula and to developing partnerships between academia and industry.”
Echoing his remarks, Abednego Kamandi, Principal Education Officer, representing the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Post Training and Skills Development in the Ministry of Education explained that the ICT sector is one of the fastest growing and that it not only provides an avenue for jobs in typical ICT companies like Huawei, but also provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and also self-employment.
Mr. Kamandi noted that partnerships between private sector players and the government are designed to foster interest and enhance skill sets through internships, apprenticeships and graduate programs like Huawei’s: “The government recognizes how critical it is to bridge and link academia with industry and as such we are fully supportive of activities such as this ICT job fair today; I want to congratulate Huawei for organizing this job fair and taking the lead in proactively bridging the gap between industry and academia.” he said.
The job fair, in its third year, brought nearly 300 students from universities across Kenya coming from as far as Bungoma, Garissa, Narok and Laikipia to learn about the job opportunities in the market, meet potential employers and undertake initial interviews for the graduate programme. The successful recruits will also receive further training and work on cutting-edge technologies including 5G networks, data centers and fintech amongst others.
Johnson Kinyua, Dean of Students, University of Nairobi spoke with practical advice for the students: “The future is in ICT. We have over 40 million workers in ICT across the world. All the jobs that will make meaning in the next 25 years are related to ICT. As well as what you learn at University, there are so many online courses offered by companies like Huawei that you should take. You must also get the practical skills, then you will succeed.”
As a global leader in ICT, and a company with over 20 years of history in Kenya, Huawei has long focused on training, recruiting and developing Kenyan talent for its office in Kenya, which also serves the wider region. With multiple training programs covering more than 4,000 people a year, and an agreement recently signed with the Ministry of ICT to expand such programs, Huawei is one of the leaders in training in the country, partnering with over 60 Universities and TVETS on offering Huawei Certified Trainings (HCIA) as well as co-operating on other training programs with other partners.
