Celebrating 10 Years of Cisco Pathways and the Impact of Digital Skills for a Better Future
2 min read
I’m delighted to share that Cisco has just released its Pathways Social Impact Report, celebrating a significant milestone – the 10th anniversary of our Cisco Pathways programme. This is a moment of great pride for Cisco, marking the progress we have made in inspiring young people from diverse backgrounds to explore careers in technology over the last decade.
Did you know that 82% of today’s job roles (Future.now) already require digital skills? This highlights the ever-growing demand for technology literacy and is supported by Cisco’s CEBR report that shows that digital skills could help 1.7 million people into the workforce every year. Plus, upskilling could add a staggering £45.3 billion to the economy.
Despite this, the UK’s technology sector, though rapidly growing and employing over 2 million people, remains the most unequal regarding socioeconomic diversity. Only 9% of UK tech employees come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, compared to 39% of the UK population.
The UK still lacks the infrastructure and resources needed for reskilling and retraining, especially among SMEs, who are the biggest employers. This needs to change, and its where programmes like Cisco Pathways can have a huge impact.
The Cisco Pathways programme targets young people from low socioeconomic areas, ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify as female and non-binary, raising their career aspirations and inspiring them to pursue careers in technology. Globally, Cisco has also committed to ensuring that 75% of its emerging talent roles do not require a degree, recognising that the best talent often comes from diverse educational backgrounds and skill sets.
Over the past decade, Cisco Pathways has grown from a simple work experience week across two locations to a programme that’s impacted 5,619 students. As someone passionate about social mobility, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of such initiatives.
Cisco Pathways is hitting its targets, engaging young people from underrepresented backgrounds, and helping us increase workforce diversity. Over the last five years, we’ve hired 21 apprentices from the programme, with 81% identifying as female and 67% from ethnic minority backgrounds. While we’re seeing encouraging increases in diversity at Cisco, the wider sector still has room to grow, so our work continues.
As we celebrate these achievements, I’m excited to continue this journey of nurturing talent and promoting inclusion within our industry and I invite you to join us in our mission. Together, we can drive social impact and economic growth through the power of digital skills.
Read the full report here.
Find out more about our programmes here: Cs.co/digitalskills
#DigitalSkills #SocialMobility #DiversityInTech #PathwaysProgramme #NetAcademy
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