Longtermvision

Chinese companies in Africa create jobs and transfer skills for future local development

As you [Chinese companies] come and establish yourself, learn about the local culture and opportunities, integrate yourself with the local business community, and build on skills development programs.

Christina naidoo is on a mission to break the glass ceiling in a male-dominated industry. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Huawei Technologies South Africa has paid her dues in the world of information and communications technology (ICT) and is now giving back.

Naidoo acknowledges the struggle to get to where she is today. Starting out as an operator in Telkom, Africa’s largest integrated communications company, she felt a lot of pressure. “I was the only nonwhite female [in my department]. The male workers undermined me and they gave me a difficult time. So I worked extremely hard and proved myself,” the South African recalls.

Before joining Huawei - China’s leading ICT solutions provider - in 2000, Naidoo, who is 45 this year, had already worked for 12 years in the ICT industry.

As a nonwhite female, she appreciates the growth opportunities her employer has provided her with. She said she is grateful to Huawei for assisting her in applying for funding from the South African Government to complete her MBA course in 2016.

Naidoo said part of Huawei’s localization strategy aims at placing more South Africans in leadership roles, with the emphasis being on women, in support of the UN’S International Telecommunication Union’s efforts to increase the participation of women in the ICT industry.

While working in the management team, she also feels she has an obligation toward her own country, which she said has a shortage of skills. “Huawei comes with the skills-set we don’t have in South Africa. It’s our responsibility as the management to make sure our training programs are correctly positioned to close that [skills] gap [between China and South Africa],” she said, adding that the company intends to create more opportunities for female employees and provide them with bursaries, training programs and online courses.

To create an environment for employees to learn and grow, Huawei established an e-learning platform to encourage employees to access online training courses anytime and anywhere. “Those high-quality training courses keep us up to date with the latest practical skills in different sectors of the ICT industry, allowing us to enhance knowledge, develop personal competence and keep pace with the knowledge economy,” said 33-year-old Pamela Khonyane, an administration specialist.

Naidoo also felt the company provided her with a platform to develop for future challenges. “When you work in an operation environment, there is nothing con- stant. Every day is a challenge. And with the development of technology, it pushes me to continuously learn, develop and grow,” she told Chinafrica.

Huawei also supports ICT education in local communities where the company operates. It has helped launch learning programs with partner Khulisani, an establishment providing assistance and opportunity for individuals with a disability to develop vocational and entrepreneurial skills, to offer free computer skills training to schools for students living with disabilities.

In addition the company has planned to help train 1,000 young South Africans in ICT in China over the next five years and will set up Huawei laboratories in South African universities for use by students and the public, so that those with skills can become more employable.

Huawei has done business in South Africa for more than 15 years and is currently one of the country’s main providers of telecommunications equipment. Naidoo noted that her company places great emphasis on localization. Huawei South Africa has more than 1,000 employees, with over 60 percent being local.

Naidoo is just one example of the thousands of African employees in Chinese companies based on the continent, which are localizing their operations as they expand across Africa. The job opportunities for locals, training of African professionals and transferring technology and skills are benefiting local communities.