Cisco announced its goal to provide digital and cybersecurity skills training to 25 million learners over the next 10 years through its Cisco Networking Academy program. By 2025, 97 million new jobs will be created due to advances in technology and automation, and Cisco is helping millions of people around the globe gain access to those jobs by empowering the workforce of the future with education and career opportunities through its Networking Academy.
Founded in 1997, Cisco Networking Academy is celebrating its 25th anniversary and continues to be one of the longest-standing IT skills-to-jobs programs in the world. Cisco Networking Academy provides high-quality IT and cybersecurity courses, learning simulators, and hands-on learning opportunities via a learning platform to support instructors and engage learners in 190 countries. To date, over 17.5 million global learners have taken Cisco Networking Academy courses to gain digital skills. Additionally, 95% of students that have taken Cisco certification aligned courses have attributed obtaining a job or education opportunity to Cisco Networking Academy.
“For 25 years, Cisco Networking Academy has transformed the lives of learners through the power of education and technology. Through the breadth of our courses, learning pathways, and network of employers along with our unmatched ecosystem of partnerships with governments, academic institutions, and non-profits, we empower the underserved and underrepresented to level the playing field,” said Laura Quintana, VP and General Manager, Cisco Networking Academy. “We celebrate our silver anniversary with an ambitious goal to reach 25 million people in the next 10 years and help deliver on our purpose to power an inclusive future for all.”
What started out as partnerships with a few high schools in 1997, Cisco Networking Academy expanded into vocational colleges and universities and now serves learners beyond the traditional classroom. Our ecosystem of partners has allowed the program to reach prisons, community centers, and military bases, while also extending learning opportunities to underserved members of our community such as underrepresented minorities, at risk youth, and people with disabilities.
As Cisco Networking Academy continues to grow and promote new training and education opportunities, it will leverage the latest programs and partnerships that are essential in building necessary digital skills and an inclusive future, including:
- A new partnership with Experis, a global leader in IT professional resourcing and project services and part of ManpowerGroup. The Cisco Networking Academy and Experis partnership will focus on offering learning paths where the demand for skilled workers is far outpacing supply, including in areas like IT, cybersecurity, networking, programming, and data, with an aim towards placing 1,000 people in new IT roles in the first year.
- The recent launch of Skills for All, a free, mobile-first program that delivers leading-edge learning experiences, including self-paced courses, interactive tools, and career resources that are designed by industry experts.
- A new cybersecurity learning pathway culminating in an entry-level certification to provide learners with skills to earn entry-level security jobs in the fast growing security industry sector.
- Continued development of partnerships with governments such as Cisco’s commitment at the National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit in July 2022 to train an additional 200,000 students in the U.S. over the next three years; as well as partnerships with non-profits and academic institutions to bring more courses and opportunities to learners around the world.
“We are proud to partner with Cisco Networking Academy to shape the IT workforce by connecting learners with career pathways and jobs to support technology transformation," said ManpowerGroup Latin America President Mónica Flores Barragán. “On behalf of ManpowerGroup, we congratulate Cisco and its Networking Academy program on a rich legacy of sustained impact in communities around the world.”
For more details on Cisco’s latest commitment and the Network Academy, please visit: https://www.netacad.com/