Cisco Rolls Out New Cisco Training Program To Help With Unemployment

Cisco has started a pilot program to train for free out-of-work individuals interested in working in the IT field. The program is currently centered in Vallejo, CA. These Cisco training classes are an attempt to lure government investment in the idea in the hopes of scaling it up. On the free market, such Cisco training classes can cost up to $3,000.

Company spokesman David Everette has said, “We could train up to 50,000 people,” and that Cisco simply wants to demonstrate that such training can be done and is effective. Cisco hopes to roll out the program nation-wide by next year.

Vallejo County has an astonishing 11.5% jobless rate. Cisco hopes to impress California Congressman George Miller and gain money from the federal Workforce Investment Act. The Solano Employment Connection, which is a jobsearch and employment resource center, is hosting the classes. Prospects look good on paper for the program. Given a $3,000 cost for the classes, students can better hope to gain employment in the IT field, where average salaries are about $65,000 annually. The program has so far been hugely popular with a second session boasting thirty-seven people on a waiting list.

Hopefully, this pilot program can gain national attention and funding, thereby increasing the number of qualified IT professionals, who are needed in a variety of industries and employment sectors.