Shenzhen-based multinational company Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.,听plans to invest $150 million in digital talent development over the next听five years听through its Seeds for the Future Program 2.0.听Announced Thursday,听the program听will听benefit 3 million people in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines.听

鈥淲e need more and more professional engineers and experts to take part in solar and other kinds of renewable听[energy production],鈥 said Bruce Li,听managing听director of Huawei Asia-Pacific Enterprise Digital Power Business,听at听the company鈥檚听technology and sustainability forum on Thursday.听

The event听also saw the听virtual reveal of听Huawei鈥檚听Digital Power Innovation and Experience Center in Shenzhen, where Mahesh听Krishnarao听Choudhary,听senior听expert听at听Huawei Digital Power, explained the greener information and communications technology (ICT) systems Huawei is developing for solar-powered homes, cars, and data centers.听

Mr. Li zeroed in on the brainpower it will take to develop this kind of zero-carbon, sustainable society: 鈥淲e need to continually promote education and research听[for]听sustainable housing development听[in order to]听provide high quality production.鈥听

Jay Chen,听vice-president of Huawei Asia Pacific, also laid out Huawei鈥檚 plan to cultivate over 40,000 ICT talents over the next five years through multiple programs, including Seeds for the Future. The Philippines, which has been the site of rainforest conservation programs and artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare solutions which Huawei has supported in the past, will be part of the ICT talent cultivation plan as well.听听

鈥淒uring the digital transformation in the Asia-Pacific countries, we found one of the big challenges is we have a shortage of the ICT talent,鈥 he said, 鈥淲e want to put more resources, more investments through these programs, online during the pandemic, and offline.鈥听

The Seeds for the Future program, which began in Thailand in 2008, has benefited more than 5,000 students across the region. The second iteration听widens its听reach.听

鈥淒igital skills and literacy are not just the foundation for the digital economy; they are also a basic human right defined by the United Nations,鈥澨齭aid Liang Hua, Huawei鈥檚听chairman, at the forum, citing a 2020 report by the UN International Children鈥檚 Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that shows about 2.2 billion people aged 25 years or younger lack access to the internet at home.听

Hand-in-hand with providing digital skills access for many people is ensuring that they will contribute to the future of green development,听said听Mr. Hua. Huawei will leverage its expertise in power electronics, energy storage, 5G, cloud, and AI to provide solutions for various industries.听

As of December 2020, Huawei鈥檚 digital power products and solutions have generated 325 billion kWh of electricity from renewable sources, and saved a total of 10 billion kWh of electricity,听according to Mr. Hua.听These efforts听have resulted in a reduction of 160 million tons in CO2 emissions.听听

Added听Mr. Chen:听鈥淲e aim to leave no one behind听[in]听achieving the eco-friendly developments in the Asia-Pacific region.鈥澨鈥斕Bront毛 H. Lacsamana听

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR