Montgomery County Community College recently earned the “Be the Bridge Award” from Cisco Networking Academy for its innovative work of incorporating its Cisco Networking Academy courses into an associate degree program as part of a proposed IT apprenticeship program.

Cisco awarded MCCC with the Be the Bridge Award during the Cisco Networking Academy Partner and Instructor Conference in San Jose, California.

MCCC was one of only five global regional winners to receive this prestigious recognition. Lawrence Byron, MCCC Director of Workforce Development for Information Technology, accepted the award on behalf of the college.

Cisco Networking Academy is a 25-year-old global IT and cybersecurity education program that partners with learning institutions to offer valuable networking and IT skills for students and workers.

Over the years, MCCC has expanded to serve as the regional Cisco Networking Academy Support Center, providing services to the region’s businesses, schools and communities. MCCC offers a full range of IT training from basic computer knowledge to

MCCC’s competency as a regional center has led to the development of IT apprenticeship programs, starting with training for IT Generalists.

At MCCC, apprentices would receive 94 hours of training over four weeks on safety, sexual harassment prevention, CompTIA A+ coursework and training. The remaining 106 hours will be held during the balance of the year at either the Blue Bell or Pottstown campus.

Apprentices will receive Cisco Networking Academy (Netacad.com) training, including topics such as PC hardware and preventive maintenance, mobile devices, and printers, Windows operation and configuration, mobile OS, and security and networking essentials. As part of the program, apprentices will be certified in CompTIA A+ and Cisco CCST-Networking.

Then, through future apprenticeship programs, students can advance to Network Technician and eventually Cyber Security Support Analyst.

Read more about this innovative academy on Montgomery County Community College’s website.

Apprenticeship Program at MCCC