IT firm Cisco offers free training to unemployed and deprived people in Edinburgh

Unemployed people in Edinburgh will get the chance to improve their job prospects and secure full-time employment following the launch of a new scheme.

The Edinburgh Cisco Community Academies Project will give free IT and business skills training to unemployed people and help the local economy to meet the demand for more technical skills, particularly from the city’s growing financial sector.

The project is part of Edinburgh’s Joined up for Jobs strategy, designed to help find employment for those least able to get jobs. The academies, run by IT systems giant Cisco, will be located around Edinburgh, especially in disadvantaged or regeneration areas.

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Councillor Ian Perry, executive member for employment and inclusion at City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The intention is to promote trainees from the programme into real job opportunities in the Edinburgh labour market.

“As employers begin to see the benefits in terms of a more skilled labour force, this could also act as a catalyst to attract further funding to expand this programme and develop other similar ones.”