Why is Cisco launching Workforce Retraining in Michigan?
A. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate of any state (15.4percent in June 2009) and a concentrated pool of workers suffering from the recent collapse of the auto industry. Workforce Retraining is a program to provide IT education for displaced workers, improving job skills and career opportunities in the healthcare and IT industries, especially in broadband expansion and security. Michigan has made a major commitment to building out a statewide broadband infrastructure to spur economic growth and improve government services. And separately, the state is also focused on further building up and modernizing its healthcare industry. Like the Networking Academy itself, Workforce Retraining is designed for possible expansion to other states that are making broadband or healthcare investments to drive economic growth.
