Huawei Embarks on Programme to Empower 1,000 Solar Practitioners in Sub-Sahara Africa

The first batch of over 100 South African solar industry practitioners has received training from Huawei in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week, marking the official kick-off of Huawei’s ‘Thousand Digital Power Talents Programme’, aimed at upskilling more than 1,000 solar practitioners across Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the theme: ‘Together, for a Better and Greener Africa’, the programme was a significant milestone in Huawei’s effort to drive growth and expand the ecosystem for Africa’s solar sector.

Sector stakeholders, including Mr. John van Zuylen, CEO of Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), and Dr. Rethabile Melamu, CEO of South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), joined Huawei at the opening ceremony of the programme.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of Southern Africa Digital Power Business, Mr. Xia Hesheng, highlighted Africa’s immense potential in terms of renewables and solar energy. “African countries have more than 40% of the world’s solar energy resources, it’s crucial to have the right talent to tap into that potential. Through our Thousand Digital Power Talents Programme, we are committed to strengthening local talent ecosystem and drive further industry growth in Africa with local partners.” said Xia.

He added: “At Huawei, we are dedicated to facilitating efficient solar power supply in Sub-Saharan Africa through our digital powertechnologies and solutions, while striving to grow solar industry ecosystem in the region through capacity building and talent developing programmes like this.

“With Huawei’s solutions that integrate digital and power electronics technologiesand the Talent Programme, we are committed to creating more value for our partners.”

Huawei will host 25 training sessions in the remainder of 2022 and throughout 2023. The sessions, including theoretical and practical learning, will upskill solar practitioners with knowledge of digital power technology and solutions, as well as practical installation skills.

“SAPVIA is delighted to have Huawei, who shares the same vision of quality and safe solar PV installations, as a partner. I have no doubt that our continued collaboration will contribute to much-needed skills transfer to build the Africa we want,” Melamu said.

On his own, Mr. John van Zuylen pointed out that, as the demand for solar energy grows in South Africa and elsewhere across the continent, the sector is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.

According to him, “AFSIA welcomes Huawei’s talent development program, and looks forward to cooperating with Huawei to share new skills with solar technicians across the continent over the next 12 months.”

In addition to South Africa, Huawei will also carry out training sessions of the talent development programme in Kenya and Nigeria.

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.

The group explained that: Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.

“At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 180,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.”