Veterans Program

Easing the transition to civilian life

The Cisco Veterans Program partners to scale positive, inclusive social and economic impact for U.S. veterans. These initiatives are focused on raising the awareness of the value of hiring a veteran and creating IT training and employment programs that leverage scalable training and technology aligned to their needs.

Enabling people to reach their potential

In November 2016, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the Virginia Veterans Cyber Training (VVCT) program. Cisco is leading the partnership to launch the free online entry-level cyber training pilot for 200 veterans who want to live and work in Virginia’s cyber industry. Cisco developed the VVCT with online training offered by Amazon Web Services and (ISC)2, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet. Delivery partners are Onward to Opportunity, Yyotta and Tech2000.
In 2016, Cisco piloted the Veterans Incubation Talent Program (VTIP) at its RTP campus to train transitioning service members and veterans in the skills required for an entry-level Cisco Services engineer role. The first cohort finished in December 2016 and seven participants were hired. VTIP has received SkillsBridge DoD approval and launched as an official Fort Bragg Career Skills Program in August of 2017.
Cisco Networking Academy is available on 24 U.S. military installations and has helped more than 73,000 military personnel develop information technology (IT) skills since 1997.
Cisco announced its Cybersecurity Scholarship program as part of the May 5, 2016 White House Joining Forces event. Cisco pledged to train at least 1000 veterans in the program over the next two years.
In 2017, Military Times Magazine named Cisco as a gold star military-friendly company.

Public-private partnerships for impact

In 2015, Cisco established the North Carolina for Military Employment (NC4ME) program aimed at finding career jobs for veterans living and working in North Carolina. In 2016, over 200 North Carolina employers were trained how to locate, assess, and support qualified military talent through accredited NC4ME human resource training.
Military hiring events use Cisco-funded Futures, Inc. technology to pre-match candidates to jobs, employer review of candidates and interviews.
Cisco has provided more than $2 million in seed funding to Futures Inc. to develop cloud-based job pipelines that use a sophisticated algorithm to match military job codes with civilian jobs and career paths.
The 2013-2014 White House IT Training and Certification Program fast tracked transitioning military personnel through IT training and certification and then matched them to high-demand civilian jobs.
Cisco is a founding member of the Veterans Jobs Mission, a coalition of companies committed to hiring 1,000,00 veterans by 2020.
Our Veterans Enablement and Troop Support employee resource organization (VETS ERO) provides mentoring and support to active and retired military personnel and their families. VETS ERO employee volunteers organize an annual Veterans Career Transition Day at multiple Cisco locations and mentor transitioning military personnel who are considering an IT career.

A legacy of veteran support

74% of employers who use Futures, Inc. pipeline at job fairs connect with qualified candidates
370,000 military veterans hired for civilian jobs through cloud-based job pipeline
73,000+ military personnel have developed IT skills through Cisco Networking Academy

"We believe veterans are well-positioned to pursue a career in cyber because their military experience equips them with transferable skills, including vital leadership qualities, which can be applied to developing the latest cybersecurity innovation."
Maj. General (retired) John Davis, VP and Federal Chief Security Officer — Palo Alto Networks

Veterans thrive in Cisco careers

The Cisco Veterans Program uses technology and human networks to better connect returning service members to civilian careers.

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