It’s Time to Promote Information Technology Careers
Cisco Systems Joins National Groundhog Job Shadow Day Efforts
Cisco Systems® is hosting a series of Groundhog Job Shadow Day events across the United States to help young people learn about career opportunities in the IT industry. More than 3,000 students will participate in events hosted on Cisco and Cisco® Networking Academy® campuses. These events will promote IT careers to support the growing need for IT professionals.
A report from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA reveals a 60 percent decline in incoming undergraduates planning to major in computer science from the fall of 2000 to 2004. Statistics such as these are causing growing concerns among technology companies. In fact, a recent McKinsey survey of 251 CIOs and chief technology officers showed that “finding talent” was the managerial challenge that will likely have the most significant effect on strategy execution over the next five years.
The Cisco Networking Academy is a global training program that helps students develop networking-centric skills that will position them for employment and career growth, while addressing the global need for a skilled IT labor force. Since its inception, more than 1.6 million students have enrolled at more than 10,000 Academies in more than 160 countries throughout the world. Recognizing that classroom experience alone provides a limited understanding of IT careers, Cisco IT professionals will meet with students on Cisco campuses to discuss IT trends and careers at Groundhog Job Shadow Day events.
This is Cisco’s fifth year participating in Groundhog Job Shadow Day. The company’s goal this year is to host students at more than 100 sites across the United States-both at Cisco offices and in colleges and high schools participating in the Networking Academy program.
Seven cities have been targeted for kick-off events during the week of February 2:
- Herndon, VA
- 13600 Dulles Technology Drive Herndon, Virginia 20171 Carroll McGillin, Area Academy Manager 410-309-5540
- Chicago, IL
- 8735 W. Higgins Road #300 Chicago, Illinois 60631 Clydene Stangvik, Area Academy Manager 952-967-8361
- Raleigh, NC
- Cisco Systems, Inc. 7025 Kit Creek Drive Lake Building Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 Debi Hallman, Contractor 919-466-0542
- Atlanta, GA
- Cisco Systems, Inc. 500 Northridge Road Atlanta, Georgia 30350 Susan Weatherly, Area Academy Manager 678-352-2990
- San Jose, CA
- Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 W. Tasman Drive Building 10 San Jose, California 95134 Tina Franklin, Area Academy Manager 408-853-6139
Cisco invites other companies and schools to get involved. For more information, contact Peter Joyce at pjoyce@cisco.com.
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