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Information For Instructors
To become a Cisco Instructor you must first be a member of staff at a Local Academy affliated with the ICT Focus Cisco Academy. It is recommended that you are a proficient educator with considerable experience in planning and implementing lessons. This will help you to make the most of the educational materials that will be made available to you as an Instructor. The curricula available to you will depend on the support contracts that your institution has signed up to. More information regarding available curricula can be found here. Once you have become a fully qualified instructor you will be eligible to become an Academy Alumni member. Check out the Network Academy Alumni Site>>.
To become a CCNA Instructor
To become a CCNA Instructor a lecturer from your institution will reguire 20 days of training split across four courses of 5 days. During these courses potential instructors will be assessed both practically and theoretically on all aspects of the Cisco Academy CCNA Curriculum. As part of this process you must maintain a minimum pass mark of 80% in both theoretical and practical assessments. Admittedly the standards are high, but this ensures that only the most appropriate people become instructors.
Subsequently, an instructor must obtain Cisco Certified Academy Instructor status (CCAI) within 24 months of starting training. This is achieved by passing the professional CCNA qualification by taking Cisco exam(s) at a VUE testing centre such as the one at ICT Focus. Once the professional certification has been obtained and the instructor has taught a class they may register for CCAI status.
To become an IT Essentials Instructor is much the same approach as becoming a CCNA Instructor. However, there is a 5 day Instructor course and the industry certification is provided by CompTIA.
Shorter NOT easier!
The alternative path to becoming a Cisco Academy Instructor for these curricula is to undertake a Fast Track course. This involves obtaining your industry certification first and then registering for a Fast Track course. The duration of the Fast Track course is dependent on the curricula. This is not a recommended approach as it is really only meant for very experienced network technology educators as it is primarily an assessment of your skills with minimal teaching time on the courses. This is also a one shot attempt. If you fail the fast track you must complete the full training course. So, although this might be a shorter option, it certainly is not easier!
Teaching Resources
As part of the Cisco Academy your institution will have access to the e-learning environment which is provided by Cisco to support the curricula they offer. In addition, your students will have access to free network simulation software and your instructors will have access to the teaching resources provided by Cisco and those created by other instructors located around the world.