The Department of Education NSW and Cisco have partnered to train 100,000 tertiary and and school students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills.
The AUSTEM 2020 program is a five-year program, with more than 100 education institutions and schools taking part.
The Cisco Networking Academy will invest $21 million for the program, with 20 per cent of Cisco Australia staff investing 20 hours of mentoring students into the tech field, totalling about 5000 hours on mentoring each year.
Cisco will also target young women in the program through its Cisco Women Rock-IT. About 1000 girls per year will participate in quarterly webinars to learn more about how IT skills can open up interesting and rewarding careers.
"The Australian economy is in transition, and there has never been a more important time to invest in the programs that will equip students with the skills they need to secure the jobs of the future," Cisco Australia and New Zealand's VP, Ken Boal, said in a statement.
More to come.
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