Today VMware’s CEO Pat Gelsinger renewed the company’s commitment to the Prince Sultan University Education for Employment program (E4E), with Prince Sultan University (PSU), to support youth skills and knowledge development needed to thrive in Saudi Arabia’s booming digital job market.
VMware academy E4E program was launched in March 2017 to certify 33 people on VMware Data Center Virtualization technology – vSphere v6.5.
VMware will continue to deliver a vocationally oriented syllabus at the Riyadh-based institution, to create VMware-certified consultants ready to enter the Saudi Job market. For the second phase of the initiative, VMware and PSU have pledged that half of the places in the E4E program will be reserved for women, in alignment with Vision 2030 to recruit women into the workforce.
In a ceremony, PSU and VMware also celebrated the successful hiring of over 25 VMware-certified consultants who completed the VMware academy E4E program this year.
Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware, said: “Today we are celebrating a true embodiment of technology as a force for good. Young graduates in the Kingdom who possess entrepreneurial spirit deserve to have their potential harnessed to prepare them for a digital future. As Saudi Arabia continues on its upward trajectory to achieving Vision 2030, skills in technologies such as cloud, networking and security and enterprise mobility will empower its new workforce.”
Notably, more than 75 percent of students who gained VMware’s certification found employment within two months of completing the course, benefiting from the company’s close relationships with channel partners and customers.
Increasing female participation in the labour force is a core pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy for economic reform. Pat Gelsinger emphasized that technology companies had a critical role to play in education in the Kingdom, preparing the country’s citizens for work amid a fast-changing technological landscape.
Dr. Ahmed S. Y amani , Rector, Prince Sultan University said: “This unique partnership with VMware will support the Kingdom’s leap into the digital future, opening doors to a promising future for the students at PSU. The initiative underscores VMware’s commitment to bringing technological innovation to the market in Saudi Arabia that will enable robust growth in the private and public sectors.”