Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd. today announced its partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES); the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI); higher education institutions; and industry partners to jointly discuss and formulate cross-sector ICT personnel development policies that connect with the country’s national master plan, at the ‘Thailand Talent Transformation Symposium’. The event is also to launch the ‘ICT Competition 2022’, targeting around 200 university students to enhance the digital personnel ecosystem in Thailand.
Mr. Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, shared the background of the Thailand Talent Transformation Symposium: “Today, Thailand continues to face digital inequality between urban and rural communities. Therefore, this collaboration between MDES, MHESI, and Huawei Thailand for the white paper on Thailand National Digital Talent Development, which covered issues surrounding a lack of human resources as well as the disparity of digital access affected by the rapid acceleration towards a digital economy. It is forecast that the digital economy will increase its contributions to 30% of Thailand’s GDP within 2027 and this collaboration will create more opportunities to develop ICT talent in the country aligned with the 5th Digital Technology Development Master Plan (2022-2027) that aims to upskill all Thais to be ready for living in the digital age. The MDES thanks Huawei for arranging the ICT Competition 2022 that will cultivate a generation of skilled digital talent that are important for developing an inclusive, high quality, and sustainable digital ecosystem in Thailand.”
Prof. Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation explained: “Rapid digital transformation has resulted in a skilled worker shortage. According to the white paper, Thailand will face a digital talent gap of over 500K by 2030, especially in Level 3 intermediate skills (mid-level) and Level 4 advanced skills (high-level), such as in 5G, IoT, and Cloud. We at MHESI must focus on developing the necessary digital skills and knowledge for the next generation, so they are equipped to benefit the economic and social development of the country. Huawei is the key private sector partner supporting the creation of a skilled ICT workforce and elevating the Government’s talent development policy in line with the national master plan. This includes hosting the ICT Competition 2022 which is another program responding, driving, and enhancing the capabilities of Thailand’s future digital workforce.”
Mr. Abel Deng, President of Huawei Asia-Pacific Carrier Business Department said: “Digital talent has always been one of Huawei’s strategic focuses and investment areas in Thailand. Overall, Huawei has a top-level talent cultivation framework and three initiative directions. To start, the Huawei ICT Academy was established in Thailand in 2019 and has trained over 60,000 ICT professionals and 2,600 SMEs. To make an even deeper impact, Huawei in collaboration with MDES and MHESI has released the Thailand National Digital Talent Development White Paper, which identifies 11 key challenges and five policy recommendations. This is complimented by Huawei’s focus on three talent development directions: leadership, skill, and knowledge.
To further improve digital knowledge, the Huawei ICT Academy has partnered with 37 leading Thai universities. Thailand is also the first country to hold Huawei’s flagship Seeds for the Future CSR project, where more than 220 excellent Thai students have joined since 2008. Based on this ecosystem, Huawei launched the ICT Competition in 2015, which has benefited over 1,000 leading Thai university students to date. This year, we plan to sharpen the ICT knowledge for around 200 young talents. And this reinforces our mission – Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand.”
The Thailand National Digital Talent Development White Paper, created in collaboration with global consultancy firm Roland Berger, recommends a holistic five-point framework to bridge Thailand’s digital talent gap, with collaborative efforts by the Government, the private sector, and academia. It includes: 1) policymaking, standardization, and monitoring; 2) skill development; 3) career and job matching; 4) infrastructure development; and 5) funding and sponsorship.
The ICT Competition 2022 is an international showcase and knowledge exchange platform on ICT technology that aims to build the capabilities of ICT talents around the world through hands-on training which supports the driving of innovation through technology. The program will elevate the education and upskilling of the next generation’s digital talent pool and will run from 9 December 2022 to March 2023 with the winning team receiving prizes worth more than THB 300,000.
Huawei, as the world’s leading global provider of information and communications technology, established the Huawei ICT Academy (Thailand) and partnered with 37 local leading higher education institutions to help develop over 26,000 local officials throughout the years. Looking forward, Huawei aims to train over 10,000 Thai digital talents in 2023 and continue implementing the white paper’s key recommendations. This will streamline diverse talent initiatives and promote a collaborative platform in Thailand. Further, this will lead to building a variety of talent skillsets in the digital ecosystem and open the stage to build more stable opportunities – bringing digital technology to every home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.
Source: Carl Byoir & Associates
