Huawei Digital Power has launched a talent development programme in Sub-Saharan Africa aimed at providing 1,000 practitioners and tertiary students within the region with technical knowledge and skills in the digital power space.
Announced during the Solar Show Africa 2022, the programme is part of the tech giant’s commitment to work with stakeholders to drive growth and ecosystem building in Africa’s solar sector.
“Africa has immense potential when it comes to renewables and solar energy in particular,” said Mr. Xia Hesheng, President of Huawei’s Southern Africa Digital Power Business. “In fact, African countries have more than 40% of the world’s solar energy resources. It’s critical that the right skills are in place in order to unlock that potential. At Huawei, we are committed to working with all industry stakeholders to ensure that the right skillsets are in place.”
The investment and programme come at a time when it’s becoming increasingly clear that renewables will be crucial to Africa achieving its development goals and adhering to its climate commitments. Right now, just 48.4% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity against a global average of 90.5%. At the same time, renewable energy is expected to contribute 22% of Africa’s total energy consumption by 2030.
Digital technology will be key to ensuring that the rise of renewables is as efficient as possible. Renewables will evolve into a digital future, where every stage of generation, transmission, storage, trading and usage of power will be digitalised to be better monitored and managed for optimal cost, safety, reliability and efficiency. Huawei, with its ICT expertise, is extremely good at this. Its participation presents a very timely boost to the industry in Africa, in terms of upskilling personnel and enriching solutions.
“At Huawei, we have been working in the field of PV for almost a decade, using bit to manage watt, allowing each ray of sunlight to generate more electricity,” Xia continued.
The training offered will focus on ensuring that all participants have the relevant certification needed to participate in the continent’s solar space. As a result, this will strengthen industry certifications, increase technical professionalism, promote local technology and skills transfer, and increase the rate of recruitment and retainment of highly skilled technical personnel.
In addition to a theoretical component, the Huawei Digital Power talent programme will offer hands-on operations, on-site practice opportunities, and a training camp.