du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, have announced the successful completion of “Seeds for the Future” programme for 2022.
The two-part programme is designed to enhance skillsets and accelerate efforts to drive talent progression for women and Emirati graduates in the UAE.
Through the Seeds for the Future programme, 28 Emirati graduates had the opportunity to visit the du offices and gain knowledge in the technical areas of the organisation. Attendees could interact with different technology subject matter experts from du and develop critical competencies, knowledge, and technical skills required in the business world. In the programme's second phase, 11 female participants interned at du HQ in Dubai Hills and other retail stores as a part of vocational training to help accelerate their careers.
Ibrahim Nassir, Chief Human Resources and Shared Services Officer at du, said, "du is committed to developing and supporting a robustly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. Our long-standing partnership with Huawei and subsequent educational initiatives align with du's transformative agenda and focus on developing and employing qualified women and Emirati youth. This enables us to strengthen further the development of ICT skills among the UAE youth well into the future."
Shunli Wang, Vice President of Huawei Middle East, said, "The cutting-edge technologies that underline UAE's digital transformation initiatives require advanced ICT skills to fully leverage the dividends of the digital economy. Collaboration between industry partners, academia and ICT companies have proved highly effective in equipping young people with the expertise to thrive in a dynamic industry. Therefore, we value our partnership with du to nurture this young talent through the Seeds for the Future programme to develop the UAE’s telco industry further."
du and Huawei have a long history of partnerships, especially in ICT technologies and network development. This is the second consecutive year both entities are collaborating to offer industry training opportunities to support du's HR efforts to strengthen its talent transformation process. These programmes also contribute significantly to upskilling and improving knowledge and experience on the latest ICT technologies, such as 5G and Cloud, among Emiratis.
Initiated by Huawei in 2008, Seeds for the Future is Huawei's flagship and long-term global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. As of June 2021, the programme has been implemented in 137 countries and regions, reaching 12,000 students from over 500 universities and gaining endorsement from more than 180 heads of state and high-level government officials globally.