The Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei Technologies South Africa, have reached an out of court settlement, following the department’s application to the Labour Court on 11 February 2022.
The Department has accepted Huawei South Africa’s employment equity plan which addresses equitable representation of South Africans to above 50% within 3 years, especially from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act.
In addition, in a joint attempt to address South Africa’s digital divide and ICT skills gap, Huawei and DoEL have agreed to collaborate on skilling the unemployed, which is an investment in youth upskilling and employment; an important pillar in achieving the country’s targets for economic growth, particularly in digital technologies.
The Development Programme, which includes internships, aligns with the duration of the employment equity plan period, and will draw on candidates from the designated groups, especially women and those from rural areas, sourced from the DoEL data base.
“The parties see this as a win-win, as it fosters a public and private partnership that facilitates the transfer of skills, while also addressing the issue of unemployment by creating jobs in the ICT sector,” says Advocate Fikiswa Bede, the Chief Director, Statutory and Advocacy Services, at the Department of Employment and Labour.
Both the Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei have expressed mutual satisfaction with the outcome.
