Sao Paulo, Brazil – 17 August, 2015: Cisco Networking Academy students have taken home four out of five top medals in this year’s WorldSkills Competition in the IT Network Systems Administration category. Wei Meng, Daniel Lee from Singapore, PEI HUA CHU from Chinese Taipei and David Csongradi from Hungary all took the Silver medal and Pekka Tuukkanen from Finland took the Bronze. More information on the winners and all the competitors can be found here.
WorldSkills Competition, the world’s largest professional education event showcasing the value of skills and raising the recognition of skilled professionals worldwide, was hosted for the first time in South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil, between 11th and 16th August. Now in its 43rd year, WorldSkills promotes the importance of skills education and training is for youth, industries and society, by challenging young professionals around the world to become the best in the skill of their choice. In total, more than1,100 competitors—a record number of participants—attended from more than 60 countries and regions in the Americas, Europe, Asia, South Pacific and Africa.
Having sponsored the event since 2005, Cisco was one of the 11 Global Industrial Partners, providing equipment such as simulation tools and preparatory materials, as well as student mentoring for the IT Network Systems Administration skill. Of the competitors who entered the competition, around 80% were from the Cisco Networking Academy. This is a non-commercial ICT training programme established in 1997 that equips one million people every year with increasingly vital IT skills needed for digital careers.
The Cisco Networking Academy partnered with WorldSkills to help young people develop the skills they need to thrive in the new Internet of Everything economy and mentor them through the process. In the last five WordSkills championships (Japan, Canada, London, Leipzig, Sao Paulo), 14 of 17 medal winners were Cisco Networking Academy students.
Kathy Mulvany, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, comments: “We congratulate the winners of this year’s event for demonstrating their skills at the highest level! Cisco supports WorldSkills as it gives young people a chance to develop high-demand skills in subjects such as computer networking, and gain recognition with industry professionals. By participating in initiatives such as WorldSkills, leading companies can help inspire young people to pursue a career in science, technology engineering or math, and develop the next generation of talent.”
David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, adds: “WorldSkills is continuing its history-making commitment to improving technical and vocational education, and preparing students to be ready to meet demands of the future labour market. It’s impossible to find an organization, community, or country, big or small, anywhere in the world that doesn’t rely on information technology and the internet. When joining forces with global partners like Cisco, we are inspiring these youngsters to choose to develop a skill that the IT industry demands. They get involved in developing skills at a young age, and, again, we are doing our part, with the help of our partners, to correct the current mismatch between supply and demand.”
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