Huawei helps enhance digital skills in Thailand

Huawei announced a partnership with several Thailand departments, higher education institutions and industry partners to exchange opinions and jointly formulate an ICT personnel development policy, which is about to be developed into a national master plan.

The partnership was announced Wednesday at the Thailand Talent Transformation Symposium in Bangkok, which is jointly organized by Huawei, Thailand Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), and Thailand Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI).

In October, Huawei and the two ministries co-released a white paper on Thailand Digital Talent Development. According to the white paper, the digital economy will increase its contribution to 30 percent of Thailand's GDP by 2027.

The white paper is the basis of the renewed collaboration that will lead to the development of the national master plan for ICT skills development, in alignment with the 5th Digital Technology Development Master Plan (2022-27).

"Talent cultivation is no longer the responsibility of government or academia only. As a digital transformation enabler and social value contributor, Huawei is committed to do our part. By investing in digital talent development, we hope to foster a win-win and positive business ecosystem," said Abel Deng, president of Huawei Asia-Pacific Carrier Business Department.

Over the past years, Huawei ASEAN Academy (Thailand) has helped develop more than 26,000 ICT personnel and partnered with 37 leading higher education institutions. Next year, it aims to train more than 10,000 digital youths, according to Deng.

At the symposium, Huawei and the two ministries also announced the opening of Huawei ICT Competition 2022-23 to develop ICT talent from Thai high schools and universities. The competition aims to sharpen the ICT knowledge of around 200 talented youths.

Huawei has run the ICT Competition since 2015. This year's competition will run from Dec 9 to March next year, consisting of ICT competition training and exam certification until the reward announcement and Job fair. The winning team will receive an award of 300,000 baht ($8,626).

"Today, Thailand continues to face digital inequality between urban and rural communities. The competition is another step to cultivate a generation of skilled digital talent that are important for developing an inclusive, high quality, and sustainable digital ecosystem in Thailand," said Montree Munkong, advisor to the minister, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand.