Morocco’s Ministry of National Education and Cisco Launch Regional Cisco® Networking Academy®

Networking Academy Initiative to Allow the Department to Better Manage Its Communications Network and Ensure ITC Skills Development for IT Managers

RABAT, Morocco 27 June 2011 – Cisco announced today that it has joined forces with Morocco’s Ministry of National Education to launch  a regional Cisco Networking Academy program. The Department has committed to an ambitious program to  develop its communications network and recognizes the importance of offering its network administrators the opportunity to receive training in information, communications and technology (ICT) skills. This initiative will allow the Department to better manage its network and ensure skills development for its trainees.

As part of the joint agreement the Networking Academy will provide training to the more than 100 of the ministry’s IT administrators in 16 ‘regional government academies’ in Morocco. The program will also be introduced into technical high schools throughout Morocco to provide ICT skills training to students.

Highlights / Key Facts:

• The new regional academy, which is located in Morocco’s capital Rabat, boasts an impressive training center equipped with the latest state-of-the-art Cisco technology.  The official launch kicked off with a training session for 10 IT managers from the Ministry.  General Secretary of State, Ministry of National Education, Mr. Belqasmi who is personally involved in the program and has Networking Academy program certification, officiated in the launch ceremonies alongside the Secretary of State and the directors of the Ministry’s regional academies.
• The Networking Academy program in Morocco has trained nearly 21,000 candidates since its inception in 2001.  It continues to go from strength to strength witnessing a 10 percent increase in student numbers year on year and currently boasting 73 academies and 90 certified Instructors. Today there 8553 students enrolled in the program in Morocco of whom 35 percent are female.
• The Networking Academy program provides ICT skills to students globally to improve their career and economic opportunities. It operates in high schools, colleges, universities, technical and military schools, community-based organisations, and government bodies.
• The Networking Academy curriculum combines the theory and practice of designing, developing and implementing the networks that underpin businesses and other organisations. In addition, its advanced technology curricula in areas such as security, wireless and Internet Protocol (IP) telephony provide exposure to the latest technology skills in those fields. It also has a module teaching computer technician skills.

Executive Quotes:

• Mr. Belqasmi, general secretary of State, Ministry of National Education

“The Department is committed to providing up-to-date ICT skills training to administrators and trainers as well as education on the most appropriate methods of training delivery. We are very impressed with the Cisco Networking Academy program curriculum and  satisfied that it meets the strategic direction of the Ministry. We are therefore very pleased to be working with Cisco to facilitate the introduction of  the academy program into the continuing education system of the Department. With Morocco experiencing tremendous IT growth, it is critically important that we equip our citizens with the right skills to enable them to respond to the changing needs of our society.”

• Hassan Bahej, general manager, Cisco Morocco

“We are honored that the Ministry of National Education has chosen to collaborate with Cisco in its efforts to ultimately provide ICT skills to improve career and economic opportunities for everyone in Morocco. The Cisco Networking Academy provides a vital long-term solution in the form of creating a highly skilled and well trained local work force. This is critical for accelerating and sustaining economic growth”

Links / URLs:

• Emerging Markets RSS Feed:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/data/syndication/rss2/EmergingMarkets.xml

• News@Cisco in Africa: http://newsroom.cisco.com/africa
• RSS Feed for Cisco:http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html
• For more details the Cisco Networking Academy Program please visit: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

About Cisco

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