Cisco Networking Academy in Mexico Reaches Enrollment of 50,000

Global Training Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Country

MEXICO CITY - Cisco celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Cisco Networking Academy® in Mexico and marked a milestone: 50,000 students are currently enrolled in the program. This makes Mexico the second-largest country, after the U.S., in terms of Networking Academy students.

The Networking Academy, part of the Cisco® corporate social responsibility initiative, prepares students for information technology (IT) and networking careers in the 21st century. The Networking Academy in Mexico was established 10 years ago to contribute to the training and development of local talent. Today there are 364 academies in 31 states, with 994 instructors. A total of 155,991 students have graduated from the program in Mexico since its inception, with 33 percent female participation.

"We’re extremely proud of this milestone, as education is a key enabler of economic growth. Through a combined effort among government, education and business, new skills and competencies demanded by employers and society as a whole, 21st-century skills, are being made accessible to the Mexican citizens" stated Paul Mountford, president of Emerging Markets for Cisco. "With Networking Academy initiatives such as the Gender Initiative and the Recovering Addicts Initiative, Cisco is helping Mexico promote social inclusion and build a talent pool to contribute to the country’s economic development and GDP growth, enhancing the overall competitiveness of its key markets"

IDC predicts that demand for networking skills in Mexico will outstrip supply by 24 percent in 2010.1 Cisco is helping to address this challenge by working in collaboration with local and national governments, educational institutions and other private sector organizations. In Mexico, 80 percent of all networking academies are in public institutions, and 87 percent of the students are in higher education. The participation of 50 technical universities has been critical to the success of the program in Mexico, contributing to the expansion of the academies at a national level.

"With the Cisco Networking Academy we aim to support all young professionals in Mexico. This program offers a real opportunity to obtain an industry IT certification that is recognized worldwide. In many cases the academy is one of the most effective ways to enter well-remunerated employment in the ICT industry" said Daniel Martinez Valle, director of strategy and business development, Cisco Latin America. "At an early stage, Cisco identified the value of investing in training people in the skills needed to run today’s businesses, as well as in those upcoming technologies that will be the foundation for businesses in the future".

"Mexico represents one of the most successful implementations of the Networking Academy worldwide, and in other parts of Latin America, we have been using several best practices that were created and proved in Mexico, especially in the area of student success and employability" said Martinez Valle.

The Networking Academy trains students to design, build and maintain computer networks. By combining hands-on work and online e-learning, the Networking Academy helps students acquire the skills needed for IT-related jobs and for higher education in engineering, computer science and related fields. Ultimately, the academy aids in the development of the students’ countries and local economies.

1 "White Paper: Networking Skills in Latin America: A Future Challenge" IDC, July 2007. Study sponsored by the Cisco Learning Institute.
About the Cisco Networking Academy

Launched in 1997, the Cisco Networking Academy is a collaboration among Cisco, education, business, government and community organizations around the world, aimed at nurturing IT professionals. The program employs an e-learning model, using a combination of Web-based and instructor-led training along with a hands-on lab environment to teach students how to design, build and maintain computer networks. Worldwide, more than 2.5 million students have graduated from a total of approximately 9,000 academies in 162 countries.

Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in emerging markets is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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