Hiring & Training

In 2023, Cisco committed to train 10,000 Ukrainian refugees across Europe over three years. It will do so by offering programming and cyber security courses in Ukrainian through its Start IT  Cisco4Ukraine education program. Refugee candidates will then be entered into Cisco’s Talent Bridge Matching Engine to connect refugees to jobs across Cisco’s ecosystem.

In addition, Cisco has committed to hire refugees across Europe into a 2-year apprenticeship program at Cisco. Some of the program candidates will then be hired at the company as a customer operation manager or project specialists. 

This commitment builds on Cisco’s efforts to train 4,000 Ukrainian refugees between March 2022 and June 2023.

Cisco is part of Tent U.S. and Tent UK, exploring opportunities to help refugees enter the labor market in these two countries, including through employment or job preparation.

Mentorship

In 2023, Cisco committed to mentoring 50 Afghan refugees over three years in the United States.

In 2023, Cisco committed to mentoring 50 Hispanic refugees over three years in cities across the United States.

Tailoring Products

Cisco funded the first two Refugee First Response Center prototypes, units to provide ‘healthcare in a box’ that will enable access to the internet, remote translation services, and medical care for refugees. Cisco employees, in partnership with NetHope, installed more than 80 Meraki-based Wi-Fi hotspots across Greece, reaching over 600,000 refugees.

In-kind Donation

Cisco committed to continuing to provide financial and in-kind services in support of the refugee crisis. Since September 2015, Cisco has provided over $4 million through employee giving, and Cisco Foundation matches and grants, product donations, and in-kind support. The company also provided $350,000 in funding to Mercy Corps to support development and expansion of Refugee.Info.