CAF and Cisco Networking Academy will train specialists on Internet networks in the Andean Region

Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and Cisco Learning Institute-the educational organisation of the world’s leading Internet network company-, signed an agreement last March 6th to create an investment fund aimed at promoting the development of learning centres to train specialised Information and Communication Technology networks technicians in the Andean countries.

The project, called “Human Capital for the Internet Economy”, was signed by CAF’s Executive President & CEO, Enrique Garcia, and Keith Goodwin, Vice-President of American International, at Cisco Systems.

CAF and Cisco will establish a fund that will provide seed capital to cover investment costs associated with establishing Networking Academies, such as equipment for Internet laboratories to be used by students in the five Andean countries. On the other hand, Cisco, through its Networking Academy- a part of Cisco Learning Institute-, will contribute the curriculum, the student’s certification and the teacher’s training.

During the press conference held in Caracas, but which included the other four Andean capitals – via videoconference-, Enrique Garcia said that one of the aims of the institution is to encourage the adoption and use of new Information and Communication technologies among its shareholder countries, in order to facilitate their efficient participation in the global economy, as well as the access of their populations to the benefits of the digital society.

The Cisco Networking Academy is operating in more than 110 countries and it has over 180 thousand students worldwide. Its purpose is to train students in the design, building and maintenance of computer networks for local and multinational corporations, using a teaching program updated regularly through the Internet.

The program started in the Andean region two years ago in Venezuela, which now has 23 academies. Colombia has 9 learning centres, located in different parts of the country, while Ecuador has only one academy and is negotiating a second one. In Bolivia, there are four academies. The goal is to place between 100 and 150 students in each learning centre.

Luis Eliécer Cadenas, Cisco’s Consultant on the development of the Networking Academy in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean said that “today, Internet network professionals are essential to the success of any company. Nothing is more profitable than knowledge”, he added. On the other hand, he pointed out that most of the corporations are having problems finding enough staff with the necessary skills to satisfy their demands. “For that reason, this agreement with CAF is so relevant. At Cisco, we are very pleased with this agreement”, Cadenas said.

The project “Human Capital for the Internet Economy” is geared to sectors of society that do not have access to training in areas related to Information Technologies, especially in smaller cities and poorer segments of the population.

“With this academic program, the Corporation contributes to reinforce and develop the new economy, a key factor in enhancing competitiveness in the region. In addition, it corresponds to CAF’s strategy of investing in specific information technology programs which promote social and economic development in our shareholder countries as well as regional integration,” pointed out Enrique García. He also said that initiatives like this are very important to the Corporation because they increase the ability of CAF’s shareholder countries to more rapidly and effectively insert themselves into the new global economy.

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