HP to open 20 Tech Hubs in Southeast Asia by year-end
KUALA LUMPUR: American multinational information technology company HP Inc has announced plans to open 20 Tech Hubs in underserved communities across Southeast Asia by the end of 2020.
Six Tech Hubs have already been established in Lombok and Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
The remaining hubs are planned in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines by the end of the year.
HP Greater Asia vice president and managing director Ng Tian Chong said as outlined in HP’s 2019 Sustainable Impact Report, the programme provides technology and entrepreneurship training for students aged 13 and above, and aims to upskill 10,000 youth by year-end – a goal that maps to HP’s commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025.
Outfitted with 15 to 20 new PCs as well as networking support from HP, the HP Tech Hubs blend classroom and online learning to deliver technical and soft skills essential for youths to thrive.
These include Microsoft Office, coding, business communications, having a success mindset, and how to start a small business -taught by instructors or accessible online.
Courses in entrepreneurship are adapted from HP LIFE, a free HP Foundation program that offers modules on entrepreneurship, marketing and business development.
The students will be awarded certifications for the courses they complete.
“Unprecedented connectivity, new technological breakthroughs – and now COVID 19 – have redefined how we live, work, and relate to one another.
“HP has a responsibility to play a role in preparing our youths for this new reality. To help them thrive in the new future of work, we need to build up their confidence, impart them the skills, and give them access to equal opportunities,” said Ng during a recent media briefing.
Meanwhile, Ng said HP is committing to the global goal of eliminating 75 per cent of single-use packaging by 2025, in its effort to accelerate the shift to a more efficient, circular, low-carbon economy.
Ng said HP joined Project STOP, which collaborates with companies, governments and communities in Southeast Asia to create effective waste management systems that reduce ocean-bound plastics in Indonesia.
In Muncar, East Java, Project STOP has set up Material Recovery Centers to collect, manage, and recycle plastic waste from more than 60,000 people and which have generated over 100 full-time jobs.
The waste collection service will be rolled out to more than 450,000 people across 55 villages in Muncar, Pasuruan and Jembrana over the next three years.
Besides that, he said all HP-branded paper is already deforestation-free, and by end 2020, the company is on track to achieve 100 per cent zero-deforestation for all its paper-based product packaging.
To shine a spotlight on these issues globally, HP is partnering with Girl Rising, a global a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating poverty by providing education to women and girls, to launch My Story: The 2020 Storytelling Challenge.
This Storytelling Challenge will bring to life examples of young leaders fighting for human rights, racial justice, gender equity and the advancement of education for girls.
Source: NST