Johannesburg, 25 Jul 2008
Cisco held the Middle East and African launch of its Partner Talent Portal at the University of Pretoria. The portal is a tool which will bridge the gap between the skills supply and employers. Cisco has called on its networking academies and partners to utilise this tool to market and source their skills respectively. The interaction capacity of this platform will create a direct bridge between Cisco Networking Academy graduates and employees seeking Cisco quality networking skills.
The Cisco Partner Talent Portal is easily navigated and simple to use. Cisco Networking Academy graduates can upload their resumes for Cisco partners to filter through and review. Cisco partners registered on the portal can post their vacant positions from within their organisations which require networking skills and be assured that only delegates with internationally recognised Cisco qualifications will have access to view these employment opportunities.
Cisco will be monitoring the success of the portal through a reward scheme. All delegates who report successful employment acquisition as a result of the portal will receive amazon.com vouchers to the value of one hundred US dollars.
Guests at the launch included Steve Midgley, Cisco South Africa's MD and the deputy minister of South Africa's education department Enver Surty. In addressing the audience, consisting of the press, Cisco business partners and students, Midgley emphasised that education is an element that should be fed throughout the entire duration of any individual's development and not just at the career foundation phase. TCM is a company that actualises this notion, as is evident through the constant investment in its staff and skills pool. TCM launched TCM Academy in November 2007 - a project falling under both TCM's skills development and corporate social investment portfolios. TCM Academy which is fully Cisco accredited provides basic IT and networking training to previously disadvantaged individuals. The academy readies delegates to write their CCNA exams and acquire internationally recognised qualifications.
Surty acknowledged that there is a skills shortage in the ICT industry, but progressed to say that a factor which causes more of a negative impact is the divide between the available skills and employers. The Department of Education is determined to ensure that graduates are market and job ready, and hence value and incorporate all input from employers when revising and compiling material which is taught at tertiary level institutions. Surty confirmed that the Education Department does and will continue to do everything in its power to ensure that only appropriate content is integrated into the design of course material.
To ensure that TCM Academy remains a sustainable division of the IT company, TCM Academy has become an accredited Pearson VUE testing centre, offering safe and standardised exam writing facilities to all delegates from all organisations needing to obtain world recognised certifications. The learning centre has already proved to be a reliable source of skills for TCM's own requirements with numerous TCM Academy graduates having already gained permanent employment with this leading IT reseller. TCM Academy students have the advantage of live, on-site practical experience at various TCM customers spanning a diverse set of industries.
TCM was present at the launch having registered on the portal and uploaded relevant vacant positions. Prior to the launch TCM had contacted the Cisco graduates and scheduled fifteen minute interviews with those who had posted their resumes on the portal. TCM Academy facilitators were also present to meet with the many graduates who visited the TCM exhibition stand where they were screened and given career advice. TCM is committed to skills development.
TCM Company Information:
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Contact: +2711 848 6000 or info@tcm.co.za
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