NAITA-Huawei ICT Academy in Vocational Training launched

NAITA Chairman Tharanga Gamlath and Huawei Sri Lanka CEO Liang Yi exchange signed MoU documents with a token of goodwill in the presence of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation State Minister Dr. Seetha Arambepola (middle) and ministry and NAITA officials

In fulfilling the government of Sri Lanka’s vision and priority to produce smart technocrats who are globally recognised and who possess international acclaimed qualifications required by the local and international employment markets, Huawei Sri Lanka recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA).

NAITA is a leading vocational training organisation in Sri Lanka functioning under the State Ministry of  Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation,  under the preview of the Education Ministry.
NAITA-Huawei ICT Academy to contribute and enhance vocational education and training for the youth in the telecommunication sector with hardware installation skills.

Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation State Minister Dr. Seetha Arambepola, Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation State Ministry Secretary Deepa Liyange, NAITA Chairman Tharanga Naleen Gamlath and Huawei Technologies Lanka Chief Executive Officer Liang Yi were present at the MoU signing ceremony.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Arambepola asserted, “The government envisions and will put efforts to increase the employability of the youth of Sri Lanka by developing skills of the highest technological qualities and that Huawei ICT Academy will further improve ICT vocational training of job-seeking youth, enabling them to face the challenges of digitalisation with enhanced skills.” She further noted that in future, this Huawei ICT Academy will be expanding to remote areas in Sri Lanka. 

“We expect this to target on upskilling over 300 passionate young people annually, with knowledge and practice of principles as on-site telecommunication engineers, including wireless and datacom hardware installation, environment health and safety (EHS) and quality improvement. And we are delighted to partner with Huawei in this programme,” NAITA Chairman Tharanga Naleen Gamlath said.

“Talent supply and demand are somewhat disconnected and the model struggles to support the industry’s development. In this context, a long-term strategy that includes resource sharing, complementary advantages and joint development between universities, vocational training institutes and enterprises is needed to efficiently match the talent supply with the demand,” Yi said, adding that this MoU is another step and initiative taken by Huawei in the ICT talent ecosystem building in Sri Lanka. 

“We aim to become a foundation for cultivating the digital economy talent in this beautiful Asian nation. In the new era of ICT development, Huawei will accelerate scientific and technological innovation; we will also continue to invest in knowledge innovation and talent development through furthering cooperation between the Education Ministry and Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation State Ministry in the Government of Sri Lanka and associated organisations to help building and nourishing Sri Lankan professional talent in digital technologies,” Yi affirmed. 

Whilst there is enormous potential for Sri Lankan talents to achieve vocational training in digital technologies and hardware sector with the setting up of the NAITA-Huawei ICT Academy, Huawei further foresees to bridge the gap between the demand of the ICT enterprises sector and supply from vocational training institutes to provide more technical and skilful talent, more advanced technologies and more support to innovation and entrepreneurship. According to Yi, this will facilitate a virtuous cycle and support the sustainable development of the ICT industry of Sri Lanka.  
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