Synergy Professional Services (SPS) has announced a partnership with the Etisalat Academy to provide ICT professionals in the Middle East with specialised Cisco security and networking training.

The courses, now available in the 2002 training programme, have been introduced to meet an increasing demand for new Etisalat employee training and a growing need by other companies in the region to further 'skill-up' employees who work in Internet security, Synergy said.

Recalling an IDC report on the networking skills shortage in EMEA, it said most emerging economies would continue to witness growing networking skills shortages both in absolute and relative terms until 2004.

"In particular, the UAE is predicted to have a 37 per cent skills shortage by 2004, a figure that Synergy Professional Services and the Etisalat Academy aim to reduce by offering these courses," it said.

"Through this partnership, the Etisalat Academy will offer all Cisco security courses including; Advanced Security Certification and the Cisco Certified Networking Professional (CCNP)."

Melad Ghabrial, president and CEO of Synergy, said the courses were designed to keep pace with networking and security developments that were vital to many organisations in the region.

The Etisalat Academy, established in 2000, is designed to meet the needs of Etisalsat employees, with a special focus on UAE nationals, in conjunction with other organisations, institutions, companies and ministries from all over the Middle East.

It offers training, solutions and consultancy services in career development for diversified training of all levels of expertise. Aside from being a comprehensive training & development environment, the Academy offers specialised courses in the fields of telecom engineering, information technology, information security, network and systems administration, management and TQM, accounting and finance.