MOSCOW – March 19, 2010 – The Cisco Networking Academy Training Center has started operations in State Educational Establishment "Entrepreneurship College № 11" in the framework of a joint program by Cisco and the Education Department of Moscow. The center aims to upgrade the technology skills of unemployed and underprivileged groups within the population. Cisco provided hardware for the training lab and trained the instructors who will teach information technology fundamentals in accordance with the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum. Training will be provided free of charge. The center, which was set up within the general strategy of a technological partnership between Cisco and the Russian government, is one of the first institutions of this kind in Russia.
Key Facts / Highlights:
- The center will train unemployed and low-income residents, disabled individuals, students, retired soldiers and other social groups deeply affected by the economic recession. The center will train those who were sent for professional retraining by the employment service of Moscow's Department of Labor and Employment. Those people will get training in the first- and second-level CCNA® Discovery curriculum to prepare them for Cisco's CCENTTM certification.
- A unique feature of the training center is the possibility of its easy replication in any region of the Russian Federation. Opening such a center requires training two instructors in the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum and installing the appropriate lab hardware in the classrooms.
- The college plans to open a Pearson-VUE test center to enable all students of the training center to pass certification exams right after the training. The first group of graduates will have the privilege of passing the examinations free of charge.
- Cisco has opened 125 networking academies in Russia. At present they train more than 5,600 students.
Supporting Quotes:
- Pavel Betsis, general manager, Cisco Russia:
"In Moscow we are launching a pilot project. Similar centers can be opened in other Russian regions, especially in the so-called mono-cities. Setting up the Cisco Networking Academy Training Center fully matches the principle of corporate social responsibility that Cisco adheres to worldwide. Opening the center helps to solve two important issues: It will reduce social tension caused by the global economic crisis, and it will narrow the networking specialists gap, which becomes really global and more acute with every passing year. According to IDC, in 2011 the shortage of networking specialists will reach 396,000 people."
Supporting Resources
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