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Unesco lauds Cisco Networking Academy 4IR skills partnership in SA

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 17 Dec 2021

Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges’ partnership between the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Cisco Networking Academy has been recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a global best practise.

The partnership, which was established in 2017, is designed to align TVET college curricula with ongoing developments in the fourth industrial revolution, ensuring students have access to the most up-to-date and relevant content that will boost their chances of employment once they graduate.

Also, the relationship between Cisco and the DHET aligns with the UNESCO-UNEVOC Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET project, which was designed to create opportunities for collaboration and provide a platform for bridging innovation and learning between Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

“The Cisco Network Academy forms a key part of the project. By using existing in-demand ICT courses available through the Cisco Network Academy, TVET students can complete a range of supplementary offerings and have them recognised and accredited toward their certification standards in South Africa,” says Aflie Hamid, senior manager for global partnerships at Cisco.

“Fields such as cyber security, the internet of things, and programming are only increasing in importance in terms of valued workforce skills.”

Since its inception in South Africa in 1998, the Cisco Networking Academy has reached over 121 000 individuals with the company investing more than R200 million towards IT skills advancement.

Currently, there are over 151 networking academies across South Africa that include universities, TVET Colleges, as well as public benefit organisations.

Says Hamid: “Cisco’s purpose is to power an inclusive future. Critical to this is creating connections through access to infrastructure, forging opportunities by investing in people to help create a knowledge economy and including all citizens to give them efficient technology solutions to address their unique local needs. It is education that provides a bridge between all these pillars.”

David Modiba Masilu, deputy director: DHET curriculum development and support for TVET, comments: “The partnership with Cisco adds value to certifications and gives learners better employment prospects at a pace that keeps up with rapidly changing developments in technology without the need to fully overhaul curricula. We focused on what was most in demand and have the most relevance in the job market.”

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