Cisco CEO says Internet will force educators to change

In the boundary-free Internet globe the best jobs will go to people who get top grades and are supported by an efficient electronic infrastructure, regardless of whether their country of residence currently leads in education.

According to Cisco chief executive John Chambers, the Web will change the goal of education from merely obtaining a degree to acquiring lifelong skills and competencies.

Keeping to the theme that the Internet represents the second industrial revolution - something Chambers has repeated during his numerous industry keynotes this year - he believes that the Web and education should go hand in hand.

He warned government leaders that countries that get left behind in building an efficient Internet infrastructure could destroy the budding careers of their nations' students.

Said Chambers: "The jobs a decade from now will go to wherever the best educated workforce is, with the right supporting government that has the culture that adjusts to change."

As well as stressing the importance of online education for schoolchildren, Chambers said the Web should also revolutionise the way staff are educated within organisations. He noted that the Internet economy has intensified the need to educate the workforce as quickly and as effectively.

This neatly lead to a plug for Cisco's Network Academies that were established to train and certify young apprentices in the art of designing and maintaining networks. Cisco educates 40,000 students in 3000 centres across 53 countries, including as far afield as Romania. Graduates then go on to university or are snapped up in jobs offering salaries of up to $60,000 a year.

He said: "I have one member of staff who has no college education and is on $70,000 because he really understands networking."

Cisco is aiming to increase its student number to 160,000 next year, and to 320,000 by 2001.

He concluded: "There will be two equalisers in life, the Internet and education, and they must go hand in hand in countries or in companies."