Education Networking: Where the Future Lies
Exclusive Interview of Mr. Varghese M Thomas, Head-Corporate Communications, Cisco India & SAARC by Shiksha
India is at an all-time high in its efforts to improve the quality of education systems - be it sponsored by government or private sector. The digital information technology has evolved rapidly too and education sector has imbibed it comprehensively yet methodically to provide students with better access to educational opportunities. But the ride has not been all smooth for technology in education. There have been challenges like skepticism about technology, cost factors and, availability of basic infrastructure.
Cisco, on its part, is playing a pivotal role in using 21st century technology to enable education 2.0. Cisco believes that network is going to play a critical role in the education of the future where video and data would get converged and there would be a single IP Pipe handling that convergence. The introduction of 3G would take it one step further and make video chat more common, enabling an interactive platform for knowledge delivery.
Thus, Shiksha conducted an exclusive Interview of Mr. Varghese M Thomas (referred to as VT in the rest of the article), Head-Corporate Communications of Cisco India & SAARC who told us about future of Networking in the field of Education and Cisco initiatives for the field
Shiksha: What is Cisco Networking Academy?
VT: Lack of Internet-supported education and shortage of technology-savvy workers are global dilemmas, threatening to place nations that fall behind at a permanent disadvantage in the new economy. Cisco runs the Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad), a timely response to such challenges in India and around the world.
It is a not for profit initiative by Cisco run on a highly successful alliance between Cisco and Governments around the world. Through an innovative partnership with government and educational institutions across the world, the Cisco Networking Academy is creating a pool of trained manpower and addressing the growing need of networking professionals.
Cisco Network Academy initiative launched in 1997 in the US, is currently executed in 166 countries. In India currently, there are over 170 Cisco Networking Academies across 22 states & union territories with 22,455 Active Students, 25.9% of which are women students. Overall these academies have impacted 46,291 students since the program inception in India. India has over 81,658 Active Cisco Certified Professionals of which 66,719 are CCNA Certified.
Shiksha: According to a Forrester study, there'll be a requirement of 3 million network engineers globally and 7, 45,000 in India by FY ‘12. What impact would this have on the industry?
VT: The resource demand is a direct consequence of the projected growth of the networking industry. Companies will be scouting for networking talent with the right skills and qualifications and conversely, individuals with those skills and qualifications will find good jobs and career opportunities. As the numbers suggest, skills gap is a global phenomenon and so excess demand in one country will unlikely be met with surplus supply from another country.
Shiksha: Do you think the employees (in IT networking industry) have the right skill sets?
VT: The increasing challenge for enterprises remains that professionals today do not meet the demand of specialization in the required skill sets with a significant lack of industry ready experience. According to an IDC report, the technical skills gap in the demand of specialized professionals in the IT networking industry will grow to 40% by the year 2012. The report also predicts that while the huge skills gap in this industry is a concern for enterprises, it represents a vast opportunity for IT professionals and technicians.
Cisco recently also conducted a survey titled ‘CCIE view into the Future of Network' amongst the elite experts of the IT networking industry and released its findings in early 2010. The survey revealed that organizations today demand specialization in managing, controlling and designing increasingly sophisticated networks which is not being met by the current supply of professionals in this space.
Shiksha: What can be done to bridge the gap between skills and education?
VT: We believe that in order to effectively tackle the problem of lack of job readiness in the Indian IT sector, it is important to foster partnerships between the industry and academia. Many IT companies have already begun partnering with engineering colleges and universities. On our part, the Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad) is a timely response to this challenge. The curriculum incorporates hands-on experience when teaching students about computer networks. NetAcad offers various curricula, viz, CCNA, CCNP, Network Security, Fundamentals of Wireless LAN, which cover the principles and practice of designing, building, and maintaining networks capable of supporting national and global organizations.
The Networking Academy is in line with the needs of Indian colleges, and features project-driven training in high-demand job skills. In India currently, there are over 170 Cisco Networking Academies across 22 states & union territories with 22455 Active Students, 25.9% of which are women students. India has over 81,658 Active Cisco Certified Professionals of which 66,719 are CCNA Certified. NetAcad also aims to bridge the ‘digital divide' and bring parity as it takes technical education to rural India. Cisco has also tied up exclusively with all women institutes to encourage girls to learn about networking which has been always considered as a male bastion.
Shiksha: Cisco and other major IT players are actively talking about intervention in academics. Cisco has even been tying up with higher educational institutes for the same. What is the nature of support that is given to these institutions? (academic, infrastructure)
VT: Cisco provides its online curriculum, Learner Management System (LMS comprising of assessments, administrative class management, etc) to the institute for free. We liaise with institutes which are interested in doing a research on e-learning. In addition, Cisco also offers discounted equipment to institutes, depending on the course they have opted for training.
Shiksha: What are the job opportunities in the IT Networking industry?
VT: In today's global world, ‘the Network' has become a platform to integrate all forms of technology and communication systems. A networking professional can be defined as a person engaged in architecting, designing, installing, configuring and troubleshooting networks and network devices. While there has been a steady increase in the number of IT professionals in India, there is an increasing shortfall of skilled networking professionals. As the business relevance of ICT grows across all sectors, the demand for networking professionals will continue to rise. The defence, railways and banking sectors are a few sectors where large scale networking infrastructure deployment is envisaged
Roles in this area which have conventionally been of architects, engineers, and administrators are evolving into highly specialized roles in concentrations like security, wireless, voice, and remote office. Network education trains the professionals for immense opportunities that are available in the networking industry which is divided into six sub-sectors - routing and switching (R&S), service provider, design, storage, voice and network security.
There are several options available for students and professionals that are looking for professional networking certifications. At the entry level we have a Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) which validates the ability to install, operate and troubleshoot a small enterprise branch network, including basic network security. With a CCENT, network professional demonstrates the skills required for entry-level network support positions - the starting point for many successful careers in networking.
Apart from CCENT, there are three levels of Cisco-certified courses which are: Cisco Certified Networking Associate - CCNA, Cisco Certified Networking Professional - CCNP, and Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert - CCIE. The duration of these courses ranges from 2 - 16 weeks. In addition to the most common Routing & Switching certification, network professionals can enhance their core networking knowledge by obtaining specialist certifications in areas such as security, IP telephony and wireless.
As countries and industries continue to transform and adopt networking technology and infrastructures, the demand for skilled networking IT professionals will continue to rise.
Shiksha: What are the skills and qualifications required for a career in this industry?
VT: At the entry level, besides the technical know-how, the employer during the process of interview will get opportunities to assess the candidate's soft skills, including communication, presentation, customer service, sales/account management. There has been a heavy impetus on Project and Program management skills which enable the individual to work better in teams.
Secondly, it's imperative that any aspirant to the networking industry has hands on experience on working on actual networking gear and is advised to go for globally recognized training and certifications. The third aspect assessed is whether an individual can work in a team and is ‘goal driven'. Networking professionals are also expected to be mapped on the timelines of project delivery. As we climb up the ladder, such as in the case of recruiting experts, we primarily look for domain experience. For example, in banking is the candidate aware of the core banking scenario and can he/she work in a global environment. Also, he/she should be innovative and be able to adapt to any customer's demand and situation.
A very general skill-set, yet a must at all stages, is whether a person is willing to learn. It is vital, more now than ever before since the work environment and technology changes are taking place at a very rapid pace. So apart from problem-solving skills and innovation, life-long learning is a must.
Shiksha: What are the benefits and challenges of working in this industry?
VT: A career in networking drives high level satisfaction and self fulfillment for professionals and experts in this space. According to a recently conducted survey by Cisco titled ‘CCIE view into the future of Networking', majority of IT networking professionals have a positive impact within their organization and within their community. The survey findings revealed that 71% of networking professionals have shared their knowledge and expertise which has benefitted their organization. 66% of professionals are also able to mentor others who are seeking to develop their skills. In addition, 42% of networking professionals play a critical role in design and implementation of projects.
In addition to the above, desired income, ample employment opportunities and interest in computer and technology are the key reasons which drives most candidates to choose a career in networking today. As per Springboard research, the challenge facing the IT industry is not availability, but rather gaps in the available skill pool, finding people with a blend of skills and experience and the shortage of non-IT managerial skills. While networking professionals may technically be sound, it is envisaged that they keep themselves abreast with the latest trends with the changes in technology, for instance from data centre to virtualization to security management, etc. the challenge is to keep on constantly learning, relearning and keeping a tab on changes in technology.
Shiksha: What kind of remuneration can aspirants expect?
VT: Each certification track equips a student for a specific role, and the designations vary depending on the area of specialization. Generalist jobs can have varied designations like Network Systems Administrator, Networking Engineer, Network Manager Infrastructure Manager and Network Systems Analyst among others. For professionals with advanced networking skills the designation could vary from Systems Architect, Wireless Specialist, Voice Specialist, NOC Specialist to Remote Office Specialist.
Remuneration depends on the kind of certification. The starting salary ranges from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 20,000 per-month. The next level is professional where an individual with five years experience can earn anything up to Rs. 50,000 per-month. At the expert level, an individual is expected to earn Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh per month. Unlike software, all it requires to get into networking is a mix of analytical skills, good communication skills and a technical background.
Source: Shiksha Team
Date: 17th December, 2010
