Dive Brief:
- Cisco will aim to train 25 million people in in-demand IT skills during the next 10 years, the tech company announced Tuesday, calling the initiative its “largest skills and training commitment yet.” Among other things, the company said it will expand the reach of its existing Cisco Networking Academy.
- The effort is aimed at ensuring the tech talent pipeline keeps pace with advances in technology and automation, and Cisco said it hopes to do so in a way that provides an equitable and inclusive workforce development program.
- More than 17 million individuals have taken a course within the academy, and 95% of those who took “certification aligned courses” attributed a later job or education opportunity to the academy, according to Cisco. Some of Cisco’s offerings are available free to the public, while others are offered in high school and higher education settings, among other places.
Dive Insight:
Cisco’s assessment of the tech talent pipeline echoes what other groups have found: Businesses are adopting new technologies, but struggle to find talent to make efficient use of those solutions, August research from Cognizant concluded, for example.
A few months earlier, a ManpowerGroup report revealed similar findings, but suggested employers may have more options than they realize. The organization, like Cisco, pointed to a lack of equity and a need to level the playing field. External partnerships, it said, can help identify nontraditional talent, such as those who took time away from the workforce to provide care for family members.
To see the benefits of such training and sourcing efforts, however, employers will have to prioritize inclusion in the workplace, experts say. More than a pipeline problem, a lack of diversity in tech is a workplace inclusion problem, a Girls Who Code executive said during a 2020 event. Among other things, she suggested employers track DEI metrics, provide diverse mentors and ensure leadership is held accountable for achieving related goals.
