Cisco Networking Academy- Bridging the Cyber Skills gap

Cisco is committed to helping close the cybersecurity skills and talent gap in the European Union.
We pledge to offer cybersecurity skills trainings to 250,000 EU citizens and digital skills trainings by the end of July 2025 and 10,000 Ukrainian refugees  by end of July 2025. 

Our pledge

As Europe moves at great speed through its green and digital journey to meet its Digital Decade 2030 targets, securing what’s connected, including businesses and public organizations, is ever more important. And that starts with developing a workforce trained in basic cyber skills through to professional certification.
We are at a pivotal moment for the security of our region, with sophisticated cyber-attacks and a continuously growing skills gap. Each individual we can empower with cybersecurity knowledge or welcome to the information security workforce is a step toward a more secure and robust digital Europe.

Our initiatives

Title: Bridging the Cyber Skills gap with the Cisco Networking Academy

Description: Training in cybersecurity skills across the European Union (EU) with free of charge, cybersecurity skills pathway available on the Cisco Skills for All platform and aligned to the new CCST entry level Cyber certification. Courses available free of charge, and entirely self-paced to enable learners anywhere to obtain the core knowledge required to apply for entry level cybersecurity position.  
Target: 250,000 EU citizens from beginners to experts - by end of July 2025
Location: online across EU
Cost: Free 
Link to the initiative

Title:  Cisco4Ukraine - Training refugees

Description: Training program to train Ukrainian refugees who want to build cyber skills, reskill or upskill, in collaboration with the University of Information Technology and Management (UITM), in Rzeszów.
Target: 10,000 Ukrainian refugees by end 2024
Location: online
Cost: Free
Language: Ukrainian, English
Link to the initiative
 

Cisco is dedicated to reviewing and updating the status of this pledge every six months.

Pledge progress updates

As of May 2024—more than a year ahead of the final deadline—Cisco has already trained 224,000 learners and 9,100 Ukrainian refugees, reaching nearly 90% of the goal, with efforts still ongoing.

As of April 2025, Cisco has achieved remarkable progress on their pledge, having trained 362,000 individuals — surpassing their original target by 145%. Notably, 16.4% of the participants were women, highlighting their continued commitment to diversity in cybersecurity skills development.

Background

The Cisco Networking Academy is one of the world’s longest running skills-to-jobs programs, offering tech education through strong public-private partnerships, a high-quality curriculum, and inclusive workforce development programs.

Since 1997, Cisco’s Networking Academy has leveraged its unique ecosystem of institutions and instructors across Europe and beyond its borders to bridge the skills gap, making the digital space more accessible and safer.  

In partnership with educational institutions and governments around the world, the Cisco Networking Academy leverages industry expertise to deliver a curriculum and tools focused technologies shaping the future — such as security, networking, collaboration, and Internet of Things (IoT). Courses are designed to equip learners with the skills required by industry, using gamification, assessments, and problem-solving to support learner success.  

Supporting a continuum of learning, from curiosity to careers, courses align to industry-recognized certifications and prepare learners with transferable, vendor-neutral, job-ready skills. Over the years, 93% of students surveyed in Europe, who took Cisco certification-aligned courses, obtained a job and/or educational opportunity.