AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- 25 October 2001 -- Bridging the digital divide is now a reality for the young people in one of New Zealand's poorest communities with the establishment of a Cisco Networking Academy Program at Tangaroa College.

Prime Minister Helen Clark today opened a Cisco Networking Academy Program at the College, situated in the suburb of Otara, bringing to fruition an initiative put in place 12 months ago with the establishment of the Cyberwaka Enterprises Regional Cisco Networking Academy at Te Kaha.

A joint venture between the Te Runanga O Te Whanau tribal authority on the East Coast, and the Pacific Islands Matagi e Fa Trust, in Manukau City, Cyberwaka Enterprises was established in October 2000 with a view to providing the opportunity for young Maori and Pacific Island people in their respective regions to benefit from the growth of the knowledge wave.

The Regional Cisco Networking Academy Program, set up in a disused school at Te Kaha, started its first teaching training program in January of this year. Two local Academies have since been implemented in Colleges on the East Coast.

Two of the tutors on that initial training program are involved with instructing the class of 20 sixth and seventh form students enrolled on the program at Tangaroa College -- the first metropolitan secondary school in New Zealand to embrace the web-based learning program.

Launched in 1997 the Cisco Networking Academy Program is a 280-hour vocational training course, which teaches secondary school and tertiary students and in-transition workers to design, build and maintain computer networks. There are now more than 135,000 students at 8,000 plus academies across 110 countries worldwide on the program, which is considered the industry's best standards base course.

There are 14 Cisco Networking Academies in New Zealand and while the Cyberwaka Enterprises program is currently focused at the secondary school level, the Matagi e Fa Trust is looking to establish a program aimed at second chance and at-risk adults in Mangere.

"That to us is the big appeal of the Cisco Networking Academy Program," said Matagi e Fe Trust Chairman Hamish Crooks. "It provides such a broad scope with the learning able to be carried out during school hours, in the evenings or at weekends.

"At the end it provides Maori and Pacific Island young people with the bridge to cross the digital divide and gain meaningful employment in new world technology."

The principal of Tangaroa College, Mike Leach, sees the Cisco Networking Academy Program as a "logical extension of the innovative learning and teaching programs we have developed at the school."

He says Tangaroa College which draws its students from an area with high levels of unemployment and predominantly low-medium incomes, has made big strides to grow the roll and the esteem of students and teachers in recent years.

Rated a Decile 1 school, the roll has increased from 450 four years ago to 714 this year during which time absentee rates have decreased by 50%. He said the Networking Academy program "provides wonderful hands-on and interactive learning for the Polynesian kids, who make up 95% of our roll.

"It's great that these young people will in time be able to get a qualification from a school in Otara, South Auckland, which is both meaningful and transportable around the world."

Mr Leach said that while the roll for the initial Networking Academy learning module at the college was limited to 20 students from more than 100 initial applicants, he hopes to have as many as 60 pupils on the program by this time next year.

Cisco New Zealand Country Manager, Tim Hemingway said Cisco "sees education and the Internet, and e-learning in particular, as the two greatest equalizers of the 21st Century. "We predict that with the growth of the Internet there will be job openings for more than 3 million networking specialists worldwide, with a substantial number in this part of the world."

Mr Hemingway said Tangaroa College and the Matagi e Fa Trust are to be applauded for introducing the Cisco Networking Program to school leavers who can take full advantage by acquiring these new e-learning skills.

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