Global technology company, Huawei, has announced that it is actively searching for the world’s top ICT talent to support its strategy for innovation and building a greener intelligent world.
This presents an opportunity for Nigeria’s fast-growing pool of ICT professionals. Presently, Nigeria is one of the countries with the fastest growing talents in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Africa, ranking second – alongside Egypt- in terms of the number of professional software developers on the continent.
Google reported in 2021 that Nigeria had the highest magnitude growth on the continent after the outbreak of COVID-19, with an estimated 5,000 new professional software developers added in 2021.
At a recent event, Ken Hu, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman said, “At Huawei, when we talk about innovation, the first thing we think is people. We hope to attract world-class talent with world-class challenges, and work together to push the limits of science and technology.”
Hu was referring to the Top Minds recruitment program that the company launched on its website earlier.
“We don’t care where you’re from, where you graduated, or what you studied,” he continued. “As long as you have a dream for the future and believe you can make it happen, we want you to come and join us. We provide world-class challenges, a powerful platform, and all the resources you need to explore the unknown.”
Locally, Huawei continues its global recruitment strategy, targeting the continent’s top ICT talent, skills training and transfer and creating more jobs in the ICT sector through collaboration with various stakeholders.
In April, Huawei launched its digital skills development programme LEAP in Sub-Saharan Africa, to help advance the ICT skills of more than 100,000 people across the region within three years.
Launching the LEAP programme, Huawei Southern Africa President, Leo Chen said, “Through the programme, we strive to cultivate more youth leaders in ICT, who can explore more possibilities for themselves, their families, community and ultimately their nations.”
Over the past two decades, Huawei has helped advance the ICT skills of more than 80 000 people across the region. Huawei itself is an employer of choice in the region. Its subsidiaries in 9 Sub-Saharan African countries earned the Top Employer seal in 2021.
Despite facing pressure, the company believes it is more capable of dealing with uncertainty. Huawei achieved USD99.8 billion in revenue in 2021, with increased cash flows and decreased liability ratio. Huawei remains among the top telecom brands in the Global 500 top brands list, released in March 2022 by Brand Finance, a well-known British independent consultant.
“Innovation has become a core part of Huawei’s DNA,” concludes Ken Hu, “For nearly a decade, our strategy has been to re-invest at least 10% of our annual revenue back into R&D. Last year, we invested 22%.”
