Cisco Networking Academy Reaches 3 Million Learners in India, Strengthening the Skills-to-Jobs Pipeline

For three decades now, Cisco Networking Academy has relentlessly worked across the length and breadth of India, through classrooms, campuses, universities, and government collaborations. The result: 3 million learners empowered. Millions of lives transformed.

This milestone is a testament to the incredible impact that can be brought about when government, academic leaders, partners, instructors, and industry work together with a shared purpose of empowering youth by bringing their respective unique strengths to make the greatest transformational empowerment in the age of AI.

As a next step in this journey, Cisco Networking Academy is launching the India Career Hub in partnership with Indeed. This is Cisco’s first dedicated Career Hub outside the United States, and it is designed to help learners move confidently from skills to employment.

A Gateway from Skills to Jobs: The Cisco–Indeed Partnership

As India continues its rapid economic growth, a persistent disconnect between demand and supply of skilled talent has become increasingly evident. To bridge this divide, Cisco Networking Academy partnered with Indeed, combining Cisco’s 28 years of digital skills education with Indeed’s mission to help people get jobs. The collaboration takes shape through the India Career Hub, launched following a successful pilot in the United States in August 2024, where tens of thousands of job applications were initiated by Networking Academy learners.

Key features of the India Career Hub include:

Curated Job Boards: Pre-filtered roles directly aligned with Cisco Networking Academy’s curricula, including Cybersecurity, Networking, AI & Data Science, Programming, and more.

AI-Enhanced Tools: Personalized career advice, AI-powered resume builders, intelligent job matching, and comparison tools help learners put their best foot forward.

Career Services: Access to free and discounted resources such as resume writing, mock interviews, and negotiation prep.

Career Preparation Workshops: Free, comprehensive sessions to help learners plan their career goals and enhance their professional profiles.

“Our success in India has always been built on collaboration,” said Clarence Barboza, Managing Director, Digital Impact Office. “No single organization can prepare the workforce for an AI-first economy on its own. Governments, academic institutions, nonprofits, instructors, and industry partners each play a critical role. Reaching three million learners is an important milestone, but what matters most is working together to ensure those skills translate into meaningful, sustainable careers.”

“We are committed to helping job seekers everywhere overcome barriers and find great work,” said Sashi Kumar, MD, Indeed India. “Our partnership is a powerful example of how we are closing the skills-to-jobs gap at scale for a global workforce ready to lead the next wave of digital innovation.”

The People Behind the Numbers

Each milestone is a celebration of every person who chose to learn and each instructor who led. One such learner is Khushi Bhati from Delhi. Driven by a curiosity for technology from an early age, she pursued her higher education with focus and intent. Through her college’s Networking Academy course and hands-on labs, she built both the confidence and technical skills to pursue a career in the field. Today, Khushi works as a network engineer at Cisco, continues to upskill, and has become an inspiration to other young women considering a path in technology.

In FY25, 97% of learners secured a new career or education opportunity after completing Cisco certification-aligned courses (based on FY25 Student Outcome Surveys). These stories bear testament to what can be achieved through an ecosystem approach where learners, instructors, and academies grow together.

Students’ achievements would not have been possible without the core of the foundation of Cisco Networking Academy in India, which has been its instructors and academy partners who have translated the global curriculum into local impact. Across the country, faculty members are trained, enabled, and trusted to deliver courses that best suit their institutions and learners. Some colleges integrate Cisco Networking Academy courses in their academic curriculum, while others offer it as add-on courses that emphasise on industry-aligned learning.

Bridging Skills to Employment

To bridge the gap between skills and meaningful employment, Cisco Networking Academy launched three structured national initiatives in India:

The Cisco Virtual Internship Program (VIP) launched in collaboration with AICTE, Ministry of Education, Government of India has empowered over 329,000 learners to date and will expand in 2026 with a dedicated AI pathway.

Skillathon a focused two-month nationwide skilling sprint, has scaled rapidly, growing from 80,000 learners in the previous year to 120,000 learners in FY25, demonstrating strong learner demand for intensive, time-bound skilling.

Ideathon in partnership with Cisco India Emerging Talent Recruiting team, the initiative applies the same rigor and problem statements used in Cisco’s hiring processes, enabling the identification of high-quality talent from Tier-2 and Tier-3 institutions. Many learners secure competitive roles even when not placed at Cisco.

Deeper impact through Centers of Excellence (COE)

While Cisco Networking Academy works at scale across India, a strategic framework has been specifically designed with a more focused and deeper engagement. Centers of Excellence are designed for institutions ready to commit deeply to industry-aligned learning over time.

COEs involve sustained collaboration, hands-on with simulators and real equipment, regular co-conducted sessions, continuous faculty enablement, and access to real-world industry product use cases beyond theoretical learning. This sustained investment enables a strong internal learning ecosystem, multiple certified instructors, and consistent hands-on engagement across technologies. Over time, this translates into confident learners, stronger employability, and visible outcomes that last.

Looking ahead

Cisco Networking Academy remains steadfast in its commitment to investing in India and advancing our skills-to-jobs programs. We will continue to drive even greater innovations, particularly in the field of AI, to ensure that the next-generation workforce is fully prepared for both the challenges and opportunities ahead.