Cisco doing a good job at Lynn English

LYNN – Nick Madden and Bradley Beaucejour are on the verge of graduating high school, and they are also on the verge – according to a manager with a long-established hiring firm – of getting good-paying jobs with promising futures.Thanks to a program that prepared the seniors and other English High School students to obtain certifications in information technology skills, Madden and Beaucejour are positioned to walk into a job after they walk across the graduation stage on Friday.?In the IT world, there are a lot of jobs. In fact, there are more jobs than there are people to fill them,” said Robert Half Technology branch manager Will Mazola.Madden plans to attend the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and Beaucejour has his sights set on the University of Massachusetts-Boston where he wants to train to be a computer engineerBoth seniors acquired fundamental training in IT certification training programs through a partnership between English and international networking provider, Cisco Systems, Inc.English linked up with California-based Cisco in 2000, beginning with 75 students enrolled in information technology courses. The number of enrolled students totaled 100 this year.In addition to completing fundamental IT training, Madden and his classmates have completed preparation work to receive Cisco training that English technical education consultant Kevin R. Geaney said can open doors for them in the high-technology world.?The foundation they get at English High School will take them anywhere they want to go,” Geaney said.Mazola, a Lynn Vocational Technical Institute graduate, transformed an early interest in an engineering career into information technology job placement work by joining Robert Half.With 65 years of experience in the staffing industry, Robert Half matches all varieties of IT jobs with employment candidates.?When you start looking for a job and you work with a staffing company like Robert Half, you have a recruiting machine behind you,” Mazola said.By completing Cisco-approved IT fundamental training, Madden and English junior Ariana Oliveira are on track to attain “A+” certification that will get them noticed in interviews with high-technology companies.?When I see that, I see a kid who is a cut above,” he told Madden, Oliveira, Beaucejour and English sophomore Nicky Duong.The four students have achieved various levels of certification training with English?s Cisco program and Oliveira wants to convert her skills into a job working in Cambridge for Google. Mazola said Robert Half can help guide her to the fast-track training programs that will help make Oliveira?s goal a reality.He said unemployment among information technology professionals is less than half the statewide five percent unemployment rate.?There is a real need for IT talent. Having an IT background will increase your hourly pay by a minimum of five dollars,” Mazola said.Beaucejour wants to design video and online interactive games. Mazola said combining Cisco skills and real-life job experience can provide the senior and his English classmates with the foundation they need to build an information technology career.?A young mind moving forward is something a company can read,” he said.Geaney ultimately wants to see training expanded to include an independent evaluation program recognized by the information industry. He has Principal Thomas Strangie?s solid support.?None of this would have happened without Mr. Geaney. I couldn?t be more proud of these young people,” Strangie said.