SCOTLAND, March 20, 2003 - A further $1 million funding package announced today (Thursday) by leading internet infrastructure provider Cisco Systems for the Govan Initiative is set to enable the pioneering Cisco Community Networking Academy to be rolled out to three other socially-disadvantaged communities around Glasgow. The expansion into Drumchapel, Easterhouse and Shettleston aims to provide students from these areas with a passport to better paid, higher-skilled IT careers. Govan-born Sir Alex Ferguson joined 100 invited guests to mark the latest investment which will also kick-start a #4 million fund-raising campaign for the Hill's Trust Learning Foundation, the Govan Initiative's wholly-owned charitable subsidiary, to provide long-term funding for the state-of-the-art academy, built on the back of an earlier $500,000 investment by Cisco.

The initial Cisco investment was leveraged by the Govan Initiative to secure #3 million, through match funding achieved with the aid of the Strathclyde European Partnership, and other donations from the public and private sectors. This enabled one of the first academies of its kind in Europe to be built in Govan, with the potential to cater for 200 students. With a prime objective of raising the aspirations of individuals from less well-off areas, the academy, which opened last year, is already establishing itself as a centre of excellence in the delivery of industry-centric content within information and communication technologies and related sectors.

These will target diverse disadvantaged groups, ranging from those with literacy and numeracy problems to ethnic minorities.

Gordon Thomson, country manager Scotland for Cisco Systems Limited, said: "We were keen to make an investment where it would make a real and lasting difference. Working with the Govan Initiative provided us with the ideal opportunity to help improve education in Glasgow. With unemployment in double figures and only 12 per cent of school leavers in the Greater Govan area going on to further education, this Cisco Community Networking Academy is helping many realise their untapped potential and increase networking skills. The launch of the Hill's Trust Learning Foundation endowment fund will help ensure the academy model can continue expanding its reach and ensure a lasting legacy is created for future generations."

Damien Yeates, chief executive of the Govan Initiative Limited, commented: "With the labour shortage in virtually every area of industry a key issue facing Scotland, our aim is to deliver a programme which is accessible and unthreatening to help those at ground level. The academy focuses on making IT accessible to the wider population, developing technology apprenticeships to allow residents in under-invested communities to pick up technical and computer skills. Having already succeeded in turning every #1 Cisco has invested in us into #8, with the aid of European funding and other private and public sector sources, we hope to be able to do the same with this latest round of funding."

As the first students prepare to graduate next month, nine out of the 25 have already secured skilled roles in the IT sector, while the remainder are on work placements with partner companies of Cisco and other supporting businesses. The aim is now to expand the academy model to other areas with similar challenges to Govan to enable further students from under-invested communities to benefit from improved career prospects.

Distributed by The Communications Business on behalf of Cisco Systems.

For further information: Anna Baird or Denise Hannestad, The Communications Business, telephone 0131 553 5777.

Photographs by ATOM will be available FOC from 4pm today. Please contact TheCommunications Business for further information.

Editor's notes

An opportunity to speak to successful students from the Greater Govan Cisco Community Networking Academy will be provided after the speeches at today's event.

The Govan Initiative

The Govan Initiative is a limited company by guarantee and operates as an independent private sector, not-for-profit organisation with social objectives. Its aim is to encourage economic growth and ensure that the benefits of economic prosperity are translated into jobs and opportunities for the disadvantage communities of Greater Govan and Glasgow. The company was established in 1986 with an annual operating budget of #64,000 and four staff. Today, it has an annual operating budget of some #4.5 million and employs over 150 staff.

The Cisco Networking Academy Program

The Cisco Networking Academy Program is a public, private, partnership between Cisco, governments, education institutions, non-government organisations and industry, created to teach students how to design, build and maintain computer networks. Launched in 1997, the Cisco Networking Academy Program was evolved to a worldwide educational programme of over 100,000 academies in 149 countries. Currently more than 400,000 students are enrolled and there are 138,000 graduates. The programme assists in preparing tomorrow's information technology (IT) workforce, bridging the digital divide and allowing students to experience true e-learning technology.

Scotland-based Cisco Networking Academies:

Aberdeen College, Argyll College, Ayr College, Banff & Buchan College of Further Education, Bell College, Bellshill Academy, Cardinal Newman High School, Cardonald College, Central Technology College, Clackmannan College of Further Education, CLiCK Learning Centre, Clydebank College, Cumbernauld College, Dumfries & Galloway College, Edinburgh's Telford College, Fife College of Further and Higher Education, Fife Women's Technology Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, Govan Initiative, Inverness College, James Watt College, Kilmarnock College, Langside College, Learning and Teaching Scotland, Lews Castle College, Moray College, Napier University, North Highland College (Thurso), Perth College, Reid Kerr College, Robert Gordon University, Shetland College, Edinburgh Stevenson College, University of Paisley and WeSSNET.

The Greater Govan Cisco Community Networking Academy

The Hill's Trust building in the heart of Govan has a long association with education and philanthropy dating back to the 18th century when successful Govan merchant Abraham Hill's vested #200 (the equivalent of #2.5 million today) to provide free education for the local community In January 2001, the Govan Initiative negotiated a rent-free, 25-year lease with Glasgow City Council. The philanthropic donation of $500,000 from Cisco was leveraged to create a total fund of #3 million to refurbish the Hill's Trust as the community technology academy. Launched in April 2002, the Hill's Trust Academy was established by the Govan Initiative with strong support from a range of public and private sector partners.

The Hill's Trust Learning Foundation

The Hill's Trust Learning Foundation is a wholly-owned charitable subsidiary of the Govan Initiative Limited. Its principal aim is to provide long-term funding for the daily running of the academy. Hill's Trust endowment fund has already attracted significant private sector interest from a variety of blue chip companies, including Lloyds TSB Scotland and Diageo.