Cisco Partners With The Federal And Local Government To Train Students In ICT

Cisco Systems, an ICT and networking solutions firm is celebrating 20 years of innovative IT teaching and as part of its social responsibility, it has partnered with the government- federal, state and local to train students on ICT.

With the emphasis on entrepreneurship very recently, to ease the burden of unemployment on the government, there is no better time for this training to take place. According to the Regional Corporate Affairs Manager, Cisco, Mr. Alfie Hamid, the modules will encompass practical classes to provide the students with problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills needed to begin a business as an entrepreneur or get a paid job. Notably, Cisco is in collaboration with educators in secondary schools, universities, and polytechnics.

So far, over a hundred thousand students have undergone training in this academy since its inception in 1997.

As part of the celebration of the academy’s 20^th anniversary, the students are taking the courses for free. In fact, some of the secondary school students from Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Lagos were present at the occasion to showcase the skills they had learnt from the free training by Cisco.

Mr. Hamid noted that many students in the past have shared success stories which make the academy more like a movement, other than an initiative. He said:

‘In Nigeria alone, the NetAcad, in the past 20 years, has trained over 101,000 students., of which 41% are females, and currently has over 32,000 active students and an instructor population of 218 in 167 academies, seven academy support centres and nine instructor training centres.’

The vision of networking academy is to impact over one billion people by 2025 via a digital system (where registered individuals can receive their training online). Seeing that the tech firm is committed to training individuals, this is achievable with the right publicity to target the desired audience.

The General Manager, Cisco, expressed his gratitude for the achievement of the firm and his contribution to the advancement of ICT in Nigeria. Moreover, the industry will do more to see that the modules are appropriately covered as this will create opportunities for young entrepreneurs and innovative minds who will eventually become solution providers to the never-ending tech challenges.