Cisco Systems strengthen commitment to empower Moroccans' involvement in ICT at the 'Cisco Academy Conference 2006'

The announcement came during the 'Cisco Academy Conference 2006', which took place on March 16 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Casablanca. The conference showcased the development of Networking Academy courses and introduced an opportunity to explore new training techniques as well as providing direct interaction with Cisco trainers and experts.

Since September 2004, Cisco Systems has been working in alliance with UNIFEM, USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the Ministry of National Education and the State Secretariat in charge of Vocational Education.

The program falls within UNIFEM's innovative stance on women's economic empowerment through sector-specific interventions, identifying growing industry sectors as platforms for integrating women into the high end of the work value-chain. UNIFEM's strategy for women dovetails with USAID's education strategy for Morocco which is to improve the skills and employability of Morocco's young workforce, thereby rendering them more qualified to enter the fast-changing job market.

'UNIFEM has a worldwide mandate to empower women economically and politically. Within this context, UNIFEM has identified Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) as playing a vital role in generating economic opportunities for women because ICT empowers women with information, education and softskills,' said Salem Sebbar of UNIFEM. 'We are proud to be a partner of Cisco Systems, USAID, and the Moroccan Government. Our objective is to ensure a high quality of training and bridge the gaps between men and women in IT.'

'Morocco has proven to be the fastest growing country in the region last year with regards to participating students said Mark De Simon, Cisco Systems' vice president in the Middle East and Africa. 'The country has shown the best performance in the region with the highest percentage of graduates this year. We have witnessed the number of participating students increase from 500 last year to 1,962 this year and due to this high success ratio, Cisco Systems will introduce advanced Cisco courses at the University and professional training levels.

'This initiative demonstrates the benefits of the Academy program, which empowers students to extend their knowledge of IT. It also helps them to attain an appropriate level of competence to drive their interests, as well as to hone in their business skills in order to be better placed for careers in the marketplace,' said Yasser El Kady, General manager, Middle East and North Africa.

There are currently 43 local and regional academies providing Cisco Networking Academy Program in Morocco. The total number of participants is 1,962 of which 702 are women. The regional academies: are ISIC (Institut Superieur Industriel de Casablanca, Ecole Mohammedia d'Ingenieurs and l'ENSIAS (Ecole Nationale Superieure d'informatique et d'Analyse des systemes).