Cisco Systems announced, Saturday the launch of its Mobile Testing Laboratory to facilitate the Cisco Certification of IT Networking candidates in the Kingdom. To bridge the gap Cisco in cooperation with Prince Sultan University last year launched NetVersity, the world's first of its pilot project to train leaders for Kingdom Information and Communication Technology sector. Essmat Massoud, Cisco's Director of Sales for Saudi Arabia, announced at a press conference the launch of Cisco Mobile Testing Laboratory aimed to target the Saudi IT candidates seeking to obtain Cisco Certification. The Mobile Testing Laboratory, with a capacity to accommodate 30 candidate per week is part of Cisco's around SR1 billion investment plan during the next five-year period in the Kingdom's information sector development, Massoud said. Massoud said there are currently three types of Cisco Certificates that included Cisco Certification for Internetworking Expert (CCIE), Cisco Certification for Networking Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certification for Networking Professionals (CCNP). There are roughly 60 CCIE certificate holders currently employed in public sector, in the Kingdom while 450 CCNA qualified and 200 CCNP comprising less than 10 percent of Saudis, Massoud said.3,200 students However, Nasr Y. Al-Bikawi, Regional Channel Manager said there are roughly 3,200 students currently studying at various Cisco Academies across the Kingdom. He said the number of Saudis enrolled in these IT courses was minimal. In a batch of 34 candidates undergoing a one-year training programs in two courses at Prince Sultan University's Cisco NetVersity program there are only three Saudis. According to Gert De Laet, Theater Leader Middle East and Africa the role of networking is growing. By 2012 over three million networking specialists across the world including Middle East would be required. Currently there is a waiting list of 100 candidates who want to take Cisco Certification tests in Saudi Arabia, Laet said. The IT professionals are required in networking areas such as Routing and Switching, Security, Storage and Voice-Over Internet Protocol. Meanwhile, Cisco also announced the launch of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to inspire and train Saudis by targeting 11 to 17 years of age schoolchildren for career building in the IT sector. Jehan Abdulkarim, PR and Communication Manager of Cisco said a two-month training program will be launched starting March 9 targeting Saudi schoolchildren. “We want Saudis to take center-stage in IT jobs and become leaders of the industry,” she said. __
