Cisco expands CCNA with new security, voice and wireless certifications

Cisco has unveiled a new Web site designed for collaboration among IT pros and added three new concentrations to the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) line of exams.

The CCNA portfolio is being bolstered with new certifications in security, voice and wireless, Cisco announced in late June. The concentrations were spurred by a trend that has employers increasingly looking for specialization, even from IT pros who are just beginning their careers, says Christine Yoshida, senior manager of learning product management at Cisco.

Cisco teamed with Forrester to survey 1,500 IT managers in 10 countries and found that specialization is especially important in emerging markets where companies are building out networks with the latest and greatest – rather than legacy – technology, she says.

An IT pro must have a CCNA certification already to qualify for one of the three new concentrations, which are considered beginner-level certs and consist of a five-day course and a 90-minute exam.

“We think that this will work for people who know they want to specialize right away, as well as for people who aren’t sure what they want to specialize in,” Yoshida says.

Simultaneously, Cisco announced the Cisco Learning Network, which combines official Cisco literature with social networking features like blogs, wikis and discussion forums. Both IT veterans and people considering a technology career should be able to benefit from the site, according to Cisco. Cisco employees are blogging on the site and Cisco is inviting outside experts to weigh in on the site as well, Yoshida says. A job board, like a Monster.com for Cisco-certified professionals, is planned for “phase two” of the Web site, possibly later this year.

The learning site is “another piece that we’ve developed to help address this skills gap,” Yoshida says. “We think the Web site will provide a much more robust learning space than we have today.”

The goal is to connect IT pros, letting them learn from each other and from experts.

“We have had a few different Web sites out there for people going after their certifications,” Yoshida says. “This one is bringing it together in a Web 2.0 platform.”

Back to the new certifications, Cisco said it chose to develop new exams for security, voice and wireless in response to the Forrester survey which found a great need in all three areas.