Celebrating 25 Years of Cisco Networking Academy

From our earliest days, we are aware education is foundational to our lives. The journey we take with it can help us build knowledge, unlock opportunities, forge careers, and create better futures for ourselves and our families. For those who are fortunate, access to education is a given, something that is taken for granted. However, for far too many around the world, that isn’t the case, and a good education is much harder to obtain.

Cisco is committed to changing that. Through technology and connectivity, we want to ensure education is accessible to as many people as possible, and that there are more inclusive opportunities for everyone to learn and expand their potential.

In 1997, Cisco Networking Academy was founded to enable students around the world to take part in an emerging technology industry. This educational program was designed so that any teenager or adult with an Internet connection could participate and pursue meaningful career paths.

Cisco Networking Academy is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, and I am proud to say that it has served 17.5 million learners in 190 countries with 11,800 academies. Today, it is one of the longest standing IT skills-to-jobs programs in the world. What started in partnership with only a handful of high schools expanded to vocational colleges and universities, and beyond the traditional classroom to include non-profits, prisons, military bases, and community centers.

I’ve had the privilege of meeting students and graduates all over the world. It’s amazing to see the program come to life through their successes, whether that’s inmates at the Bollate Prison in Italy gaining job experience to prepare for their future, or U.S. Army veterans learning new skills for the next chapter of their civilian career. The stories they’ve shared with me are inspiring and a true testament to what this program is all about – education and opportunity for people everywhere.

Looking forward, we know there is more we can still do and today, we’re sharing our goal to provide digital skills training to 25 million more learners over the next ten years.

Cisco’s purpose is to power an inclusive future for all, and Cisco Networking Academy is an incredible example of our purpose in action. As I look to the next 25 years, I am confident that through our innovation, our passionate teams, and our expertise in scale we will continue to make a difference and drive more equity and opportunity for more people – fundamentally creating stronger individuals, communities, and economies.