Central Georgia Technical College recently announced that the Cisco Networking Academy will begin offering an accelerated Certified Networking Associate program at the newly opened Georgia Veteran’s Education Career Transition Resource Center.
 
The CCNA provides training and industry testing of employable skills in the computer networking field. The CCNA program is currently in place on the Macon and Warner Robins campuses of the College along with two other Cisco certified programs.
 
Bringing the classes to VECTR further strengthens the College’s continued partnership with the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia, Middle Georgia State University, the Georgia Department of Veterans Services, and the Georgia Department of Labor, to provide a one-stop shop for veterans, active duty personnel, and their families.
 
The establishment of the Cisco Academy at VECTR is in response to growth within the tech sector in Georgia. The state has seen more than 17,000 information technology jobs created in 2016. Cisco is a leader in the networking industry and plays a large role in assuring those jobs. Cisco’s CCNA certification is among the highest valued industry certifications in the information technology field.  
 
Those outside of the information technology industry may be unfamiliar with the term “networking” or at least its use in this context. Networking refers to a field of information technology that deals with the interconnection of computers across both small and larger geographic areas. Networking makes the Internet possible. It also requires a solid knowledge base of computers.
 
Joni Johnson, Computer Information Systems instructor and the Cisco Networking Academy contact, who believes it’s the right time for the Academy to come to VECTR, said networking certification is an opportunity for military personnel with related experience and familiarity to transfer that knowledge into a booming civilian career path.

“We hope veterans will choose this fast-paced program that will challenge, exhilarate, and ultimately beckon them toward great opportunities of certification and successful employment,” Johnson said.
 
Enrolled veterans and active-duty military personnel will take four courses of training and industry certification in just one semester. Topics and course material will range from routing, scaling networks, wireless concepts and configuration, switching and connectivity to troubleshooting. Classes will meet in person at the Center, but the text is provided via an online curriculum hosted by Cisco.

The accelerated course load and one-semester time-frame do have a pay-off; certification and a quick potential for civilian employment in the networking industry through the support and reassurance of CGTC instructors, the Cisco Network and the VECTR Center.

After training and testing, Academy students will have access to Cisco Talent Bridge, an employment program featuring job opportunities with companies such as Cisco, CDW, Dimension Data, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, and Westcon-Comstor, who are looking to hire qualified entry-level IT talent. Additional online certifications are also available to graduates.
 
The start date for the program coincides with the beginning of CGTC’s spring semester on January 5, 2017. Registration for classes begins on November 14, 2016.  Veterans can leverage military skills and experience for college credit through Prior Learning Assessment.
 
Financial Aid opportunities are available to those who qualify.

For information on how to enroll, questions and/or concerns, email Joni Johnson at [email protected] or call (478) 757-2556.