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Novell Readies American Students for "Top 10 Careers" with "Real-world, Leading-edge" Training, Certification Opportunities "NEAP" Program Rolls Out To High Schools, Colleges Across The Country FETC -- February 20, 1996 -- This weekend Novell officially rolled out its Novell Education Academic Partner (NEAP) program to educators at the Florida Education Technology Conference. Novell goes "full thrust" with its NEAP program by enabling high school as well as college students to prepare for current work skills in information technology (IT) jobs that are numbered in the "top 10 careers" by Money Magazine. With Novell's new NEAP-Secondary program, any non-profit secondary or high school level audience can prepare for Novell's globally-recognized technical certification, the Certified Novell Administrator (CNA), in the classroom via authorized training in participating secondary schools. The CNA certification is less than three years old, yet has grown to more than 94,000 certified individuals worldwide. NEAP-Secondary builds off the strength of the original NEAP program. Formed in 1992, the NEAP program was Novell's and the entire IT industry's pioneer training program for bringing vendor training to colleges, universities and trade schools. The NEAP program has since grown to more than 150 schools worldwide. An authorized education partnership with Novell, the NEAP program focuses on both the CNA and CNE certifications. CNE is Novell's pioneer IT certification, and since its inception in 1989, has become the global standard for service and support and a common global requirement for many networking jobs. There are currently 78,000 CNEs worldwide. "Certification changes people's lives, and the NEAP and NEAP-Secondary programs give students the opportunity to best prepare for the job market with real-world, leading-edge training in some of the fastest-growing careers of the decade, network support and administration," said Gary Clark, Director of Certification and Authorization Programs for Novell. Money Magazine's "Money Forecast '96" lists three of the nation's "top 10 careers" as networking-technology related, indicating the need for individuals to service, support and administer Novell networks. Novell is the networking leader with global market share estimated at 70-plus percent. Computer education and training are high on the nation's agenda. The Education Technology Initiative was a key topic in President Bill Clinton's 1996 State of the Union Address, stating that every classroom and every library in the entire nation will be connected to the "information superhighway," with computers, software, and well-trained teachers by the year 2000. Program Endorsements Virginia Beach City Public Schools have participated in Novell's NEAP-Secondary pilot program since 1994. "The opportunities that resulted for students with Novell's CNA training have been incredible," said Jim Barger, Coordinator of Business and Marketing for Virginia Beach City Public Schools. "The students that passed the CNA exam were hired over non-certified individuals for IT jobs because of the clout of their certification and their hands-on networking experience. Some students are even working at higher-level part-time jobs while attending college because of their CNA certifications, and a few have started their own businesses in the computer technology field." As with many state and federal governments and private companies, the state of Utah uses the CNE and CNA certifications as a basis for hiring in Utah. "Novell's NEAP-Secondary program provides a pipeline for students to get the training, resources and industry certifications early enough to compete in today's job market and gain access to well-paying careers," said Dr. Scott W. Bean, State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Utah State of Education. "Our goal is to have every high school in the state of Utah up and running with the NEAP-Secondary program within three years. Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) became the first NEAP in 1992 and offers both the CNE and CNA curriculums. WITC has since become a recognized leader of network training in the state, providing meaningful industry-recognized skills and certification for its graduates, according to Ted Simpson, Computer Information Systems Instructor at WITC and NEAP program implementer. Program Offerings Participating schools must apply and meet certain criteria to participate in both the NEAP and NEAP-Secondary programs. Program benefits include:
No program fee is required, however an initial NEAP Starter Kit must be purchased for $895 (NEAP), and $695 (NEAP-Secondary). Schools interested in participating in the NEAP and NEAP-Secondary programs should call (800) 824-5179. Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL) is the world's leading network software provider. Novell software provides the infrastructure for a networked world, enabling our customers to connect with other people and the information they need, anytime and anyplace. Novell partners with other technology and market leaders to help customers make networks a part of their everyday lives.
Press Contact:
Program Endorsers:
Ted Simpson |
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