Mobily, a leading Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company, and Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, have launched the first Joint ICT Academy among operators in the Kingdom. The Academy's opening ceremony was held last Jan. 24 at Mobily headquarters in the presence Maziad Al-Harbi, Chief Technology Officer at Mobily and Saudi Huawei's CEO Mr. Zhang Dongliang. Mobily and Huawei' s purpose of this collaboration is to establish the first Joint ICT Academy among operators in Saudi Arabia and to minimize the gap between the vision 2030 talent demand and the supply in the ICT industry. Both Mobily and Huawei have developed a new elites program to embrace the 2030 ICT vision - which provides Mobily ICT employees with knowledge, equips them with the needed skills for future challenges and ultimately develops the Saudi ICT sector. Maziad Al-Harbi, Chief Technology Officer at Mobily, said: "We are passionate to join forces with Huawei to ensure that Saudi Arabia remains at the forefront of the latest trends and technologies. Innovation is vital to enabling the Kingdom to transform into a digital country, and at Mobily we are committed to deploying the most advanced technologies. That is why we are aiming to cultivate 300 Huawei certified ICT talents for Mobily before 2020." Zhang Dongliang, CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia, added: "We are proud that Mobily has selected Huawei as a partner to help them align with the kingdom's vision. Our vision is to empower this region's generation and develop the necessary talents and skills that would help accelerate the country's digital transformation." In the future, this Joint ICT Academy will also give the chance to college students who have demonstrated interest in the ICT sector to enroll. The Academy hosts multiple creative learning resources such as books, lab guides, eLearning (Cloud Learning), online tests, along with various simulation tools. — SG
