Cisco CCNA

CCNA stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate, and is an IT industry recognised qualification, that is accepted throughout the world. Cisco certification will give you the skills you need to become a network engineer.

What is CCNA?

CCNA stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate, and is an IT industry recognised qualification, that is accepted throughout the world. Cisco are a hardware company who make computer networking equipment, indeed their hardware is so widely used it is seen as the standard for any large networking project, such as the internet or a large corporate network. Cisco certification will give you the skills you need to become a network engineer. Areas covered include:

Electronic signalling
Structured Cabling
Internet Protocols
Routing and WANs (Wide Area Networks)
Network Troubleshooting
Network Design
Network Management

The CCNA Course.

The course is a tutor led online course aimed at those who have already gained a recognised qualification such as MCP or A+, those who are currently working in IT, or simply have a good understanding of computers and networks. The course is split into 4 ’semesters’, with an exam at the end of each semester.

Course Duration.

Each semester is 26 weeks long. Each week there is a 2-hour tutor-led session, and you will be expected to commit to 2-4 hours per week self-study.

What qualifications are needed?

We advise that you should have some sort of IT qualification. A+ certification is ideal, though MCP, MCSE, CNA or GNVQ level 3 would be acceptable.

What will it lead to?

Once you have taken all 4 semesters, you will have the requisite knowledge to take the CCNA exam(s). CCNA proves you have the skills to become a Network Engineer, or you could use it as a stepping stone to the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) programme.

What are the costs?

Tuition is free until further notice, but there are other costs involved. There is an administrative fee of £50 per semester, and the CCNA exams proper cost around £100 each. This comes to a total of around £300 for the entire course. Compare this with some other institutions who charge around £300 per semester (£1200 for the entire course)!