Cisco
Communities
Cisco’s
vision
At Cisco, we believe in transforming lives with technology, whether through the IT
solutions we provide or the corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that we are
involved in.
In South Africa, ICT has the potential to uplift our communities, bridging the digital divide,
bringing new capabilities to underserviced areas, and creating jobs in a burgeoning
sector. However, to create competencies in IT, education in this area is sorely needed,
and it is in response to this need that Cisco has fashioned its CSR programs.
While ICT education forms a significant portion of our activities, we also encourage our
staff to give of their own time during working hours to staff volunteerism projects that
uplift communities – human being to human being.
NetWORKING Academy –
Creating networking professionals
Every year, the Cisco Networking Academy teaches hundreds of thousands of students
around the world the skills that they need to build, design and maintain networks, improving
their career prospects while meeting the global demand for networking professionals.
In South Africa this demand is particularly urgent. There is a shortage of advanced IT
skills of between 40 000 and 70 000 people. Research shows that if a million people are
educated with basic IT skills, only 5 000 of those will ultimately develop advanced skills.
“In light of this, to achieve only the minimum of 40 000 people with advanced skills, we
have to train 10 million people in basic IT skills, which is as many children as there are in
South Africa,” says Alfie Hamid, Regional Lead for Cisco Systems, Cisco Corporate Affairs
sub-Saharan Africa. “We have over 9 000 secondary schools, but less than 5% of those
offer IT as a subject. The foundation is just not there.”
In South Africa, the Cisco Networking Academy has been embedded into a number of
universities and also, with the endorsement of the Department of Higher Education, is
being piloted in Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges. The burden of course
development is taken away from the government, and Cisco provides the curriculum and
the virtual tools at no cost to state schools and colleges.
The programme is also linked to Career Junction in South Africa, so that graduates can
easily find employment in available networking jobs.
About 9 000 students graduate from Net Academy in South Africa each year, but according
to Hamid only a small number of those continue into the advanced IT qualifications that the
industry needs. Nonetheless, while he is constantly exploring ways of extending the reach
of the programme, the Net Academy is already making a significant impact on the lives of
those it equips with skills, and on the industry as a whole.
It’s in the numbers
• Number of years NetAcad has been in SA: 15 years - with 50 students,
growing annually at a rate of between 10 and 25%
• Total number of students since inception: 28 957
• Percentage of female students: 32% in 2013, 30% since inception
Netacad laid the foundations for my future
Hulisani Madzhie
“I was born in Venda and my mother sent me to boarding school in Messina from grade nine
so that I could have the best possible education. It was there that I discovered my love of
technology. I applied to the Cisco Networking Academy, and got to spend a year in Holland
with 74 students from all walks of live, covering all Cisco certifications. My seven years with
Cisco have taught me to appreciate who I am and to stand up for myself. I see how the
internet era is dramatically changing the lives of everyone on our planet, and Cisco is at the
forefront of Internet of Everything. This makes me extremely fortunate to work here.”
Global Talent Acceleration Program (GTAP) –
IT professionals from all walks of life
GTAP delegates are professionals recruited from all walks of life or nominated by Cisco
partners and customers to enter a programme that will provide them with IT skills to
contribute to South Africa’s economy, GDP growth and employment. The programme
is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry under the National Industrial
Participation Programme..
“GTAP was started to tap into the huge reserve of untapped potential in South Africa,” says
Edrei Schoeman, Offset & Countertrade Manager, Cisco SA. “We believe that by recruiting
and investing in disadvantaged 18-to-24-year-olds who have an aptitude for technology
but no financial means to obtain suitable qualifications, we could assist in increasing the
skilled ICT talent in South Africa.”
The delegates go through a rigorous 18-week programme that combines theory, industry
exposure and hands-on experience. The delegate groups are limited to 16 people to
enable a strong emphasis on technical and professional training, mentorship and on-thejob training.
It’s in the numbers
• Number of GTAP graduates at end 2012 since inception in 2008: 250
• Number of graduates in 2012: 68
• Percentage of female graduates in 2012: 50% (increased from 30% in 2010 and 2011)
GTAP changed my life…
SiphiweNkuna
“When I was growing up in Etwatwa, we had a small community centre where I was taught
the basics of IT. When I finished school, I studied to become a networking professional. After
working for a while, one of my clients sponsored me to participate in GTAP. The programme
was life-changing for me – they don’t just teach IT, but develop other aspects of your life like
personal skills, presentation and communication. I am now working for the training provider,
Torque-IT in a great job where I am growing and discovering more each day.”
Nokukhanya Champion
“I was raised by my mother who did her best to put me through the best possible schools.
I studied electrical engineering and graduated in 2009. I had just finished my Telkom
internship when I read about Cisco’s graduate programme. Six months later, it all came
together and I started the course. It took three months in my present position – network
security engineer with Stortech – to prove myself and overcome skepticism in a man’s
world. Now I am part of a close team who don’t see me as the only black woman in my
department, but recognise me for achieving my Cisco certifications and for my work.”
Habitat for Humanity –
human beings helping human beings
Cisco employees are encouraged to participate in our staff volunteer projects because we
believe that a giving organisation is made up of every individual who works here. Cisco will
allow approved time off in working hours to participate in these projects and will match any
donations raised by our committed staff.
In 2012, we identified Habitat for Humanity as a project we wanted to support. On 1
October 2012 , we arrived at Orange Farm to help build a house for Makhokoltso Limapo, a
76-year-old woman who, until then, had lived in a tiny, rundown shack with only her cat for
company.
Ms Limapo has had an extremely hard life – her children resent her for her absence in
their youth while she worked, her pension grant is fraudulently drawn each month without
her consent, her clothes and furniture are torn and shabby and she lost half her teeth in
a severe beating in the 1980s. She personally had to participate in 60 hours of “sweat
equity” building Habitat for Humanity houses for others to qualify for a house of her own.
“It was really awesome to see the staff participating in changing this woman’s life,” says
Cathy Burns, Marketing Lead, Cisco SA. “It’s very hard work, but they rose to the occasion
to get that house built.”
Ms Limapo is extremely grateful for the fresh start she has been given so late in life. “I am
profoundly grateful to Habitat for Humanity in partnership with Cisco for coming together
to give me hope that there are people out there who care,” she says. “Maybe this house is
the next chapter of my journey that will begin now that I am old, but I do have aspirations.”
It’s in the numbers
• Number of staff members who participated: 50
• Number of hours of labour: 40 hours
• Number of bricks that were laid: 7 500
• Number of rooms: 2 bedrooms, 1 lounge, 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom
Coach Lab –
taking postgrad students to the next level
Coach Lab is Cisco’s initiative for supporting post-graduate technical students,
recruited from universities and skills incubation programmes, helping them achieve
their qualifications while immersing them in the working world. This ensures that their
qualification is based on relevant material and at the same time provides them with practical
experience in the real world so that they enter employment leaps ahead of the pack.
“Coach Lab provides our students with mentoring and coaching to ensure that when they
qualify, they don’t just have academic excellence under their belts, but an understanding
of broader issues like emotional intelligence and financial management,” says Edward
Agostinho, Cisco consulting systems engineer. “The students are part of a programme that
really looks at their environment and applies technology through a collaborative project.”
The Coach Lab process is integrated with the study requirements, so that the practical
work forms part of their qualification and can act as the basis of their thesis.
Cisco partners with companies like MTN and Standard Bank to provide students with
on-the-job training and exposure to real workplace issues. “We make sure that they are
getting the most out of the solutions process, finding ways that we can transform the
learning experience for them,” says Wright.
Each organisation sponsors a student and gives them individual and team work. This
process ultimately kick starts their careers. Even if their sponsor is unable to taken them on
after graduation, they return to the industry with a qualification, practical experience and
broad business skills.
CoachLab graduate now mentors others
Gerrit Geertsema had completed his BSc in Computer Science and had enrolled for
Honours through the University of Pretoria. He heard about Coach Lab through a friend and
enrolled in 2005, because it offered him a way of furthering his studies, gaining experience
and exposing him to the working environment at big companies. Because his working day
finished at lunchtime, he says he had the time and flexibility to focus on his work when he
needed to.
“It paid off for various reasons,” he says. “I completed my studies easily and I got to work
at a big company like Cisco.”
During his year with Coach Lab, Gerrit created a product called Digidoor, which hooked
up a camera to an IP telephony system so that video could be streamed to IP phones.
Cisco took Gerrit and another colleague to London to showcase their creation. “It opened
the door for me,” he says. “I was selected to go to Amsterdam on the Associate System
Engineer programme, and completed certifications on all Cisco technology.”
Gerrit now works at Cisco as their partner systems engineer for the Service Provider
market. He also runs the mentoring side of Coach Lab. “It’s a great programme,” he
says. “It opens doors that are very difficult to get into, and teaches innovation. You’re also
working for intelligent people who understand the subject matter. They don’t micromanage
you, because they’re preparing you to be a future leader, so you take ownership of your
own success.”
BBBEE – a commitment to transformation
At Cisco, we want to be known as South Africa’s first fully transformed multinational
IT company. Our local presence is broken down into three entities: Cisco Systems SA,
Cisco Systems Capital, in which we own an 80% shareholding, and Cisco Technology
and Services. Cisco Systems SA and Cisco Systems Capital both have a Level 4 BBBEE
certification, while Cisco Technology and Services has a Level 3 certification. Our
Ownership structure benefits our PDI (Previously Disadvantaged Individuals) employees
through the Cisco Black Employee scheme. As a multinational company in ICT, Cisco fully
embraces the principles of the gazetted ICT sector codes and aims to be a level 2 BBBEE
contributor in the near future.
“This is impressive if you consider that in 2008, we were a non-compliant entity,”
says Lesley Mamaila, Project Manager, Compliance and Broad-based Black Economic
Empowerment, Cisco SA. “In 2010, we achieved a Level 5 rating, and in 2012, Cisco
Systems achieved a Level 4 and Technology and Services achieved a Level 3.”
He says that we’ve achieved this rapid improvement to our commitment to transformation
over BEE. “BEE is limited to the seven pillars, whereas transformation is about the company
as a whole – its philosophy, culture and interactions.”
Transformation is of such importance to Cisco that it has been prioritised, alongside
profit generation, as one of our primary drives. “We believe that skills development and
employment equity are entwined, and that’s where we place our focus,” Mamaila says.
“Our entire CSR programme underpins this, for the good of Cisco, the broader IT industry
and the country we live in.”
Cisco South Africa
Cisco_SA
1st Floor South Entrance,
15 Georgian Crescent,
Bryanston, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 267 1000
www.cisco.com/web/ZA/