Title:
Classes Start in March at Internet Training Center
in Togo
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
A new Internet training center in Togo will give
young people in that part of West Africa a chance to
improve their job skills. The International
Telecommunication Union and the computer-networking
company Cisco Systems launched the center. A telecom
company in Lome is also taking part in the effort.
Robert Shaw of the ITU says students will learn the
basics of what he calls the "real plumbing of the
Internet."In January,five instructors completed two
weeks of intensive training known as the Cisco
Certified Networking Academy. They also learned how
to train others. Robert Shaw says this kind of
train-the-trainer program helps meet a growing
demand for professionals in information and
communication technologies, or ICT. He said: "The
Internet and these networks are growing so fast,
it's really hard to keep up. And the rate of change
means it's very difficult for the classical
educational programs to keep up with the demand
that's out there in the marketplace."Mr. Shaw says
recent years have seen an even stronger demand for
these kinds of programs in the developing world.He
said now there are about two billion users on the
Internet. The majority of those -- about one point
two billion -- are in developing countries. That is
almost the complete opposite of what the situation
was five years ago.The ITU launched its Internet
Training Center program in two thousand one. The
centers are meant to help spread the growth of ICT
jobs to developing countries. More than eighty
centers have opened in the Asia-Pacific area, Latin
America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Mr. Shaw says
the new center in Lome will open to students in
March. He said one goal of the program is to get
more women and girls to take part. So the program
targets at least thirty percent female enrollment.
Other locations in Africa include Angola, Cape
Verde, Kenya, Malawi and Mali. They also include
Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Mauritania, Uganda and
Zimbabwe. Students pay for the training; the cost is
different in each country. Those who complete the
program are known as Cisco-certified. The program
lasts about six months because most students attend
part time. For VOA Special English I'm Alex
Villarreal. You can comment on this story at
voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on
Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
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is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
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students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
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