February 2003 Insights Education Issue #1

Skills development for the Information Age: The Private Sector’s Role

There is a shortage of skilled workers in information technology (IT) in both developed and developing countries. Where will the workers needed to develop and implement IT systems come from? Who will train the software developers and programmers? Should the private sector play a role in helping developing countries meet the need for qualified IT staff?

During 2001 the IT and communications sectors experienced cutbacks, giving the false impression that the skills shortage would disappear but generally, redundancies did not hit qualified IT staff with highly prized skills. In response to this skills shortage, international corporations have developed training programmes under public-private-partnership agreements to teach these skills in educational institutions and not-for-profit training centres.

The Digital Partnership is an international public-private-partnership set up by the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and co-funded by the World Bank and by national and international business communities, government and public authorities in the countries it will operate in. The Digital Partnership is helping to make access to technology and the Internet affordable for developing and emerging countries. It helps deliver ICTs skills training in disadvantaged communities by establishing ‘e-learning centres’ linked to the Internet, providing software and course content and supplying instructional support to schools, teacher training centres and social enterprise projects. The initiative offers public and private sector partners the opportunity to contribute resources, technology, education and training content and technical assistance. Pilot initiatives are planned for South Africa, Brazil, India and Russia, involving partners such as Cisco and Oracle.

One of the largest global e-learning programmes is Cisco’s Networking Academy Program. Developed by education and networking experts, its broad curriculum aims to teach internet technology skills and prepare students for the qualifications they need to work in the industry. Courses are instructor-led and combine Internet-based teaching with a high level of practical work and lead to the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA), an IT industry-recognised certification. Students are assessed on their ability to apply skills and are encouraged to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The 280 hour course is designed to take a minimum of six months and is constantly updated and modified based on feedback from instructors and students worldwide as well as developments in technology.

The Program is taught in 149 countries worldwide through over 10 000 academies. It currently has nearly 300 000 students and 123 000 graduates. Recent additions to the Program are five new courses, sponsored by IT industry leaders, that will give students opportunities to gains skills in other related technologies such as the basics of programming languages and PC hardware and software skills.

Cisco works with local and national governments and with donor and voluntary organisations to bring the Program to as wide a range of people as possible. With strategic partners such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development’s Leland Initiative, the Cisco Networking Academy Program has been extended to the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The course is made relevant through locally based instructors who are trained to teach the Program. Announced at the G8 Summit in July 2000, this initiative had by May 2001 reached more than 27 LDCs. Other developing countries such as Nigeria are also supported.

Although the extension of the Program to LDCs is relatively recent, it has already found that success depends on obtaining the full support of governments, maintaining appropriate cost structures and overcoming the effects of civil disturbances. To date over 20 United Nations volunteers have been deployed to facilitate communication and regulate the quality of the Program. The LDC initiative now has over 500 graduates of which at least 81 per cent are employed full-time and nearly all graduates are seeking local employment within their own country. One student from Rwanda who completed the Program in Ethiopia has returned to her country to work on the development and implementation of ICTs programs, with the support of the Rwandan Ministry of Gender.

Michelle Selinger
T +44 (0) 20 8824 4179
F +44 (0) 20 8824 1001
mselinge@cisco.com

See also
‘Networking skills in Western Europe’, Bulletin, May 2002, London, IDC by M. Kolding

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