Huawei unveiled its 5G Birmingham Training Centre Friday to ensure that relevant 5G training is in place to meet current and future information and communications technology (ICT) needs in the UK.
The new Centre has the capacity to train 20 people at a time, with courses being tailored to meet training requirements. A typical course will last five days and will cover an introduction to 5G technology, principles of modern network engineering and hands-on practical installation of 5G network equipment.
Once fully operational, the objective is for the Centre to train upwards of 1,000 network engineers per year on the latest 5G technology, the company said.
Huawei celebrated the launch of the centre with a ceremony in the Banqueting Hall at the Birmingham Council House, which included a packed agenda covering discussions about the challenges and opportunities for 5G talent in the UK.
The event featured keynotes from Birmingham Council Leader Ian Ward and Huawei UK Non-Executive Director Sir Andrew Cahn.
Cahn said,
Our new training centre in the heart of Birmingham presents enormous opportunities for the UK, especially at a time when upskilling our talented engineers in 5G technology is vital. Knowledge sharing is in Huawei’s DNA, and we are committed to collaborating with our partners to help build a better connected Britain.
This country has an outstanding reputation for nurturing business growth, fostering unique talent and pioneering innovation. We want to play our role in ensuring as with 4G, the UK’s 5G infrastructure is world class
Before Friday’s official unveiling of the training Centre, it has been on trial run in the past few months, with some engineers already being trained in the facility.
Ian Ward, Birmingham City Council leader, said:
“5G and next generation technology is already making a big impact in Birmingham, before it has even arrived. Birmingham’s start-up scene is rapidly growing with over 13,000 tech companies now in the West Midlands, worth £5billion to the local economy.
5G talent and knowledge is essential for further growth and Huawei’s 5G training centre has already produced 157 5G-ready engineers since the first graduations took place in June this year. Long may this continue as it provides us with the 5G talent we need here”
Also on display, was the Huawei 5G Truck, an exhibition in the form of Huawei’s 5G Experiential which is in Birmingham to demonstrate 5G in action. Members of the public can fully experience Virtual Reality galaxies, streaming a live gig in 360° to friends or seeing how future smartphones will morph into tablets.
Businesses and professionals will learn how to use cloud computing and VR to make education fully interactive and immersive, productivity significantly increased and farming digitalised.
