ANSI Accredits Cisco Career Certifications, Bolstering Networking and Security Workforce

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system and a global leader in conformity assessment, is pleased to announce the accreditation of several Cisco Career Certifications under ANSI's Accreditation Program for Personnel Certification Bodies.

A multinational corporation based in San Jose, California, Cisco specializes in networking devices and products that make it easier to effectively distribute and route data, voice, and video feeds to corporate and organizational clients, as well as other products and services. The ANSI accreditation was granted to Cisco for the following certifications:

• Cisco CCNA® (Cisco Certified Network Associate) for Routing and Switching
• Cisco CCNP® (Cisco Certified Network Professional) for Routing and Switching
• CCNA Security
• CCNP Security

Cisco's accreditation was approved by the ANSI Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee on Tuesday, December 4. The accreditation decision is based on a comprehensive review of the documentation, as well as onsite verification by the assessment team to assess compliance to the standard.

"ANSI commends Cisco for achieving accreditation and demonstrating its commitment to the continual improvement of its credentialing program," said Dr. Roy Swift, senior director of personnel credentialing accreditation programs at ANSI. "Accreditation by ANSI demonstrates compliance to a rigorous internationally recognized accreditation process and creates a valuable market distinction for these Cisco credentials."

"As job roles continue to evolve with advancements in technology, it's vital that Cisco continues to offer the certification programs that allow individuals to maximize the investment in their education and increase the ROI of their organization's network infrastructure," said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager of Learning@Cisco. "ANSI accreditation is one of a number of efforts underway to make sure the value of certification remains high and reflects and validates real-world skills that are relevant to the marketplace."

"Cisco's world class certifications provide the technical skills and depth of knowledge required for professionals to stand out in today's job market, while enabling a competitive advantage for their employers," added Patrick Finn, senior vice president, U.S. Public Sector, Cisco. "This accreditation serves as third-party confirmation that Cisco certifications are developed to rigorous standards and best practices recognized throughout the world, providing additional confidence to our certification holders and their employers that Cisco certifications continue to meet and exceed industry standards."

This ANSI accreditation process (based on the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 standard) is designed to increase the integrity, confidence, and mobility of certified professionals. Since the launch of ANSI's Personnel Certification Accreditation Program in 2003, the Institute has accredited 42 personnel certification bodies across a range of industry sectors involving more than 5 million workers.

ANSI's personnel certification accreditation program was the first such program in the United States to fulfill the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, which represents the global benchmark for accreditation body practice. Accordingly, ANSI's accreditation program is recognized as a world-renowned leader in personnel credentialing.

About ANSI
The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

SOURCE American National Standards Institute