Women in Tech: An education programme for 500 unemployed women aged 25-45
Women in Tech reached five hundred (500) unemployed women aged 25-45, registered with the Public Employment Service (DYPA), with secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education. It was implemented by the DYPA and Huawei under the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in December 2022 and the training was carried out by Interlei, an official training partner of Huawei.
The vision of the programme focused on addressing the gender gap in the IT sector. By providing digital skills, the programme provided the opportunity for 500 women trained to meet the high demand for digital skills in the marketplace. At the same time, it facilitated their integration into well-paid and high-quality jobs.
At the end of the programme, beneficiaries acquired the basic knowledge and skills required in the field of networks and basic principles for routing, switching, wireless networking, network security, automation, etc. Furthermore, upon completion of each module, all trainees were able to take part in the corresponding free examinations attesting to their knowledge level, with a view to their integration into the labour market. Huawei Women in Tech aimed not only at education but also the successful integration of participants into the labour market.
Structure of the Programme
The programme, with a total duration of one hundred (100) hours, included the provision of training for women in the thematic modules: (a) basic ICT skills and (b) Huawei Certified ICT Associate (HCIA) – Datacom. Upon completion of the programme, the five hundred trainees acquired basic knowledge and skills required in the area of networks and are able to understand the basic principles of routing, switching, wireless networking, network security, IPv4 core concepts and SDN and automation.
More than 2500 were those applying in September and five hundred were selected with the training completed at the end of December 2023.
The objectives of the DYPA – Huawei cooperation
The purpose of the Memorandum of Cooperation was to promote the cooperation of DYPA and Huawei to achieve the following objectives:
- bridge the gap between information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge and skills
- offer training and educational solutions to meet the demands of the ICT industry by offering specialised seminars in the area of routing and switching and developing social skills of the workforce
- create an ICT industry talent ecosystem and support the existing ICT workforce; and
- promote the education of unemployed women in the field of digital skills.
Why is it a good practice?
Huawei Women in Tech aimed not only at education but also the successful integration of participants into the labour market. Interlei, as the official education institution of Huawei, took over the organisation and conduct of courses as part of this important programme, equipping them with the appropriate knowledge and skills currently required by the labour market. With the rapid technological evolution we are experiencing, the needs of the market for a knowledgeable workforce in various sectors of the IT sector are large and urgent. Upskilling significantly helps learners not only to improve their knowledge, but also to retrain them in new areas, leading them even to change professional careers.
