Cisco introduces new entry-level networking certification 25 June, 2007 By Chris Talbot

PromoPipeline Exclusive Channel Promotions Find Out How You Can Make Money Today! ENROLL FREE! >> SaaS Trumps Social Media Mike Dubrall - Gilwell Group How to Evaluate Training William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels Please join me at the Vendor Channel Management Summit in San Francisco Robert M. Cohen - Integrated mar.com Discount or Payment for Services? William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels Goal Setting William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels

In the partner and customer communities, there's a huge need to staff up and support the growth of networking in all levels of business, said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, senior director of Learning@Cisco. Networking is one of the fastest growing high-tech industries, and the rapid growth is creating a shortage of skilled networking professionals.

"What's happening is very quickly we have outpaced the growth of the company, and the growth of the industry has outpaced the talent that has been available," Beliveau-Dunn said.

Customers and partners are trying to recruit new talent, but they're having difficulties finding people with networking skills. The introduction of the entry-level Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT) certification is meant to help get more workers in the field with networking skills.

"What we basically are doing with this new job certification and this new curriculum that we have developed ... is essentially providing a new path that's been significantly revamped so that it looks and feels much more like the environments of today and the future both for our customers and our partners," Beliveau-Dunn said.

Essentially, CCENT is a halfway point in the CCNA. They know the basics of networking technology and are capable of working alongside a CCNA-certified professional under supervision. It gives them enough knowledge and experience to get an entry-level networking job, she said.

"Partners have been dying for this," Beliveau-Dunn said. They want new skills and new talent in the pipeline because they need people to hire, she added.

In comparison, a CCNA-certified professional typically has about three years of experience in the industry, whereas CCENT-certified worker would be fresh out of school with knowledge of network operations, but without any job experience, she said.

"We consider these folks to have the ability to work in a supervised manner with another ... person of network fluency that's already had some job skills that have been embedded into their experience," Beliveau-Dunn said.

What exactly could they do with a CCENT certification? For instance, they could help configure and install Cisco integrated services routers, she said.

"We're really talking here about simplified network, small network training," she said.

Entry-level professionals who begin with the new CCENT certification would likely continue their study and training to progress towards getting a CCNA certification, Beliveau-Dunn said.

However, the CCNA certification has changed, as well. Cisco has done a complete retooling of the CCNA. It no longer just addresses core routing and switching technology, but it also requires people to understand the basics of wireless and security, she said.

"There's a lot of new stuff in there they're going to have to prepare for," Beliveau-Dunn said.