du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Huawei to foster development, enhance skillsets, and accelerate efforts to drive talent progression in the UAE through three core development programs. As part of the longstanding partnership with Huawei, du will equip graduate trainees, technology professionals and senior level professionals with key competencies, knowledge, and technical skills required in the business world. Also as part of the agreement, a competitive leadership training will take place in the UK and Germany in partnership with prestigious business schools and Huawei.
The MoU was attended by the CEOs of du and Huawei during a signing ceremony held at Al Salam Tower on April 18, 2022. This latest announcement also aligns with the National Agenda, which seeks to improve homegrown talent in the job market and ensure they make valuable economic contributions through employment and entrepreneurship.
Commenting on the partnership, Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO, du, said: “Following the success of last year’s program, it is with great pleasure that we announce our renewed partnership with Huawei to offer a competitive training package to graduates and senior professionals, thereby equipping them with competitive knowledge against rapid digitalization. The advent of technologies such as Cloud, AI, Big Data, and 5G will make our society, economy, and life more colorful due to connectivity and intelligence. In the future, mankind will surely move into an intelligent world. As a pioneer in the future digital world, more knowledge about digital services will only improve readiness in the context of new business in the UAE, in line with the National Agenda.”
In partnership with Huawei, the du-Huawei internship program is a unique learning pathway that will support UAE graduate trainees over a period of 6-8 months, where participants will engage with simulated customers’ business scenarios through online and onsite learning, case sharing, and practice-based training. The first learning phase will run for five months under a technical specialist program and revolve around 5G education, 5G industry application, and basic IT knowledge.
Jerry Liu, CEO, Huawei, added: “The ICT industry will face significant challenges in the next decade regarding how to achieve tremendous success on the digital journey practically. Four phases are usually involved: network transformation, organization transformation, process streamlining, and talent development. Huawei has been in partnership with du for 14 years. Huawei is not only a world-leading network solution provider but also the best partner with du in business cooperation, talent development, and digital ecosystem partnership. Huawei hopes to support du to provide practical and positive support, especially in the talent development for digital transformation.”
The second training phase of the program will run for five days for an executive leadership program in the UK and Germany in partnership with prestigious business schools and Huawei for participants to become acquainted with 5G opportunities against the tide of digital transformation through collaborative leadership and agile approaches. A seven month period of du-Huawei run Emerging Technologies Webinars will also present an overview of business use cases. Upon completion, graduate trainees, technology professionals and senior level professionals will receive certifications from Huawei for 5G, cloud computing, and the overall program.
du and Huawei have a long history of partnership, especially in ICT Technologies and Network Development. This is the second consecutive year both entities are to offer an industry training opportunity. In 2021, du and Huawei held the first Huawei Internship Development Program for graduate trainees in Technology, focusing on topics such as 5G and Cloud. This year, different stages to this learning partnership will be deployed, starting with the Joint Annual Training Plan Consulting, to support du’s HR effort in strengthening the talent transformation process. The goal is to align business expectations to the optimal and most suitable learning paths. As for national talents and Emirati specialists in du, programs are designed to upskill and improve their knowledge and experience on the latest ICT technologies, such as 5G and Cloud.
