Cisco Announces Workforce Retraining Initiative
Today, we launched a new pilot jobs training program in Michigan that was lauded by President Barack Obama in a speech at the Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan. The new program, built on the Cisco Networking Academy platform, is designed to upgrade skills and create new job opportunities and will focus on broadband, network security and healthcare IT training – key components of the state’s strategy for re-invigorating its economy and igniting the job market. Press release on this announcement here.
Established in 1997, the Cisco Networking Academy provides students with critical IT and networking skills to design, build, and maintain the infrastructure highway that both the public and private sector depend on. The Academy currently serves more than 128,000 students in more than 2,200 U.S. educational institutions and reaches more than 750,000 students each year in more than 165 countries. More info on Cisco Networking Academy.
In this Q&A, Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers explains how the company is partnering with government, non-profits and educational institutions to develop job skills programs in broadband infrastructure, network security and healthcare information technology.
Technology plays an ever important role in education and the classroom, but how can it be best utilized for job training and retraining? Visit Cisco WebEx’ PasstheBall.com and help us brainstorm some great ideas on how technology can help train workers or upgrade skills. Don’t have an idea? Rate or comment on ideas that are already there: http://passtheball.com/jobtraining.
Start an idea or rate an idea and we’ll make a donation to Teachers Without Borders.
Posted by John Earnhardt at 11:35AM PST
John Earnhardt Jul 15, 2009
Video of President Obama citing Cisco Networking Academy program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1QAcCVIvHs