It turns out that even paradise needs computer skills. Right now, Mauritius, an idyllic island nation in the Indian 
Ocean, is banking on technology expertise to give its economy a kick start—and the Cisco? Networking Academy? is 
playing an important role in its plans.  

The country intends to introduce Networking Academy training in order to satisfy the domestic demand for networking 
skills and provide qualified technical personnel for a burgeoning business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. 

BPO has become one of the great engines of economic change in Mauritius since two of its economic mainstays, the sugar 
cane and textiles industries, have come under threat. 

Sugar cane production has been affected in recent years by a fall in global prices for sugar and the removal of import 
protection; and the textiles industry faces increasingly fierce overseas competition. 

BPO offers an economic lifeline because it plays to two of the island's important strengths. One is that Mauritians are 
native English and French speakers, and so can easily staff call centers and help-lines for clients in Europe.

"Once the 15 networking academies are established, I see a major growth in the number of networking graduates." 

— Alfie Hamid, Cisco Networking Academy area manager

The second is that state education in Mauritius is of a high standard and free to all at any level. The result is a 
highly literate and well-educated population, an ideal basis for developing an IT-orientated economy. 

Taking these factors into account, the Mauritian government has set about positioning the island as an attractive 
location for IT companies by setting up an appropriate legal framework, liberalizing telecommunications and improving 
the infrastructure, amongst other measures.

Consequently, the country's IT industry has increased by an average 25 percent year-on-year in the last five years, with
 more than 350 companies operating in BPO, IT-enabled services, software development, multimedia, call centers, hardware
, consultancy, training and Web development. 

Companies that have opened operations in Mauritius include Accenture, Cisco, France Telecom, Hinduja Group, HP, IBM, 
Infosys, Microsoft and Oracle. 

This influx of foreign businesses has led to an exponentially growing demand for IT skills and increasingly higher 
salaries, which has resulted in local IT academics leaving their university posts for better-paid jobs in the private 
sector.

The collaboration with Cisco should ease this shortage of skills by helping to create a range of new IT training 
facilities. 

It is the result of a government conference called "Export of Human Resource Development Services", held in the capital 
of Port Louis, and has the blessing of the Mauritius Ministry of Finance, Board of Investment and Joint Economic Council
. 

Other participants at the conference included the United Nations Development Programme, the Commonwealth Secretariat and
 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as Cisco and Orange Business 
Services.

The decision to link up with Cisco was swift and decisive, says Alfie Hamid, Networking Academy area academy manager: "
Unlike other governments that simply talk about investment in IT skills, here in Mauritius actions speak louder than 
words." 

As well as being a speaker at the conference, Hamid was instrumental in developing the agreement, along with Alen 
Venkatasami, a Cisco national account manager in Mauritius.

The collaboration with Cisco entails the opening of 15 new Networking Academies offering Cisco IT Essentials courses, 
based in state secondary schools, while the University of Mauritius concentrates on training potential IT professionals 
to CCNP? level as a regional academy. 

In addition, the newly established Mauritius University of Technology will teach to CCNA? level. Skills training will be
 free and open to all. Additionally, scholarships will be...