The Deputy Vice Chancellor said it was humbling to introduce the Cisco Networking Academy for the Vision Impaired (CAVI) project at a recent breakfast at Curtin University. In a partnership between Curtin University, the Association for the Blind and Cisco Systems, CAVI is a world-first academy for visually impaired students to undertake Cisco CNAP courses. The project has been driven by Iain Murray, from Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dr Helen Armstrong, from the School of Information Systems, who have really shown Curtin’s innovative approach to research that impacts on the world.
Dr Margaret Crowley, CEO for the Association for the Blind of WA, had this to say: “With this partnership we aim to enhance the employment opportunities for people who are blind or vision impaired through leading industry training and information technology skills.
“As Western Australia prospers and unemployment reaches record lows, people who are blind or vision impaired, of working age, still experience 68% unemployment.
“Through projects such as the Cisco Networking Academy, within the Association’s Industry Skills Centre, we look forward to redressing the high rate of unemployment and underemployment experienced by people who are blind or vision impaired.”
In a time where the ICT industry needs skilled workers, we need to remember the enabling capacity of technology at an individual level. By providing accessible and flexible workplaces we can tap into people’s abilities to create new and challenging opportunities.
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