Cisco Networking Academy an excellent example of partnership in the sphere of information technologies in Moldova.

The network of the Cisco academies is an excellent example of partnership in the sphere of information technologies and gives a chance to train qualified specialists for the modernization of Moldova, U. S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif J. Chaudry said on Thursday at the conference “Cisco Networking Academy Program” – Model for Training Information and Telecommunication Technologies”.

He considers the ITT as the sphere of equal possibilities and the foundation for Moldova’s economic development, in whose GDP the information technologies occupy 9%.

According to Asif J. Chaudry, the Cisco academies help to raise the young people’s knowledge in the ITT sphere, they facilitate the development of the education and industrial spheres on the whole.

Minister of Information Technologies and Telecommunications Alexandr Oleinic also considers that the ITT sector is the only one, which can provide Moldova’s sustainable development.

“The most considerable investments are made in this sphere. During the last six years they reached 10 million lei and each year they increase by 10%”, the minister said.

He underscored young people’s increased interest in respective educational institutions, from which 1500 specialists graduate yearly. The minister considers this number to be a sufficient resource for the labor market, but he designated the graduators’ training level as insufficient.

“The major part of the Moldovan companies have to train them practically from zero”, Oleinic added and said that Cisco plays an important role in solving this problem.

Deputy Minister of Education Tatiana Poting proposed to include the Cisco, as facultative, in the academic program of the lyceums.

Regional Manager of the Cisco Networking Academy Program for Southeastern Europe Nicolae Sandu called for using the experience of the Cisco academies in Moldova, the number of whose graduates reach one million in the whole world.

He forecast that less than in five years the representatives of 80% of professions will not be able to go without the knowledge in the sphere of information and telecommunication technologies.

There are five Cisco academies in Moldova: they work at Moldovan State University and the Technical University, at ULIM, at the Institute for the Development of Information Systems and at Financing-Banking College. They were created and act with support on the part of the USA International Development Agency (USAID).