The networking giant has unveiled its Learning Network, a social network that allows professionals across the globe to share information. The move is intended to galvanise greater productivity in sectors where the skills gap is greatest: security, voice and wireless.

The move comes as Cisco estimates it will need to double or even treble certified employees over the next five years to meet demand for networking skills.

Cisco claimed its partners’ engineers could use its global network of engineers to improve their practical and theoretical experience.

“It could be that your engineer is going to a client meeting and wants to know how to put together an unusual range of kit. Someone, somewhere at Cisco will have done it already and can give them the heads up,” said Mike Pilbeam, Cisco’s vice president of global systems engineering operations.

Pilbeam dismissed the idea that it is not in an engineer’s interests to reveal valuable secrets.

“The information-is-power ethos was in vogue 25 years ago. These days there is a community,” he said.
“There has always been a more collaborative mentality among engineers anyway.”

Steve Niven, sales director at Cisco partner Networks First, suspected resellers would be too ‘parochial’ to ever share information, but welcomed the scheme in principle.

“The shortage of Cisco engineers is driving their premiums up, but we can not pass that cost on to the customer as the competition for customers is so fierce,” he said. “There are people undercutting by offering prices that are not workable.”