Key Facts/Highlights:
- According to IDC, Latin America will experience gains in all three IT market segments: hardware, software and IT services, driving overall IT spending to 4 percent growth in 2009.
- Cisco is working to expand access to authorized networking certifications to thousands of aspiring IT professionals through the Mexico FIRST program.
- Mexico FIRST is sponsored by the Ministry of Economy of Mexico (MoE) in collaboration with the World Bank.
- The Ministry of Economy has set aside US $40 million to subsidize IT training and career certification programs.
- Through Mexico FIRST, Mexican networking professionals and students will have access to better and more cost-effective networking certification programs, including Cisco's industry-leading CCNA® and CCNP® certifications, to support the growing global competitiveness of Mexico's IT sector.
- Learning@Cisco has released Spanish versions of CCNA course materials, exams and learning games to aid in training and certification exam preparation.
- Individuals may validate their knowledge by taking a certification exam at any one of the 51 Pearson-VUE test centers located throughout Mexico.
- The CCIE® Mobile Lab will be available in Mexico City in September 2009.
- "By helping to develop a base of talented professionals with critical ICT skills, Cisco is helping Mexico improve the lives of individual citizens and the competitiveness of the nation as whole," said Paul Mountford, president of emerging markets for Cisco. "Cisco is proud to participate in the Mexico FIRST program with the World Bank and the federal government of Mexico."
- Cisco Learning Network: http://www.ciscolearningnetwork.com
- Cisco Latin American Networking Skills Gap: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_031108.html
- Cisco Learning Partners: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le27/learning_learning_partner_connection_home.html
- Friendfeed: www.friendfeed.com/learningatcisco
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/learningatcisco
- Digg: http://www.digg.com/users/learningatcisco
- Del.i.cious: http://delicious.com/learningatcisco
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=learningatcisco
- Google Reader: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/07543131729020791635
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=680467&trk=anetsrch_name&goback=.gdr_1236889165048_1
Learning@Cisco addresses the need for technical talent worldwide by providing the educational training, certifications, communities and consulting services that address the global networking skills talent gap and accelerate productivity, opportunity, and growth. Through education and expertise, Learning@Cisco drives the talent development needed to evolve the workforce of today to meet the demands of tomorrow. *Source: IDC, Worldwide Services 2009-2013 Forecast: Making the Most of the Economic Crisis, Doc # 217479 / Mar 2009. Cisco, the Cisco logo, Cisco Systems, CCNA and CCNP are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information. For direct RSS Feeds of all Cisco news, please visit "News@Cisco" at the following link: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html
Contact Information: Press & Analyst Relations: Cara Sloman Cisco 831-440-2411 csloman@cisco.com Investor Relations: Laura Graves Cisco 408-526-6521 lagraves@cisco.com