Cisco Networking Academy — free courses

Cisco Networking Academy is Cisco's own education arm, and its self-paced online courses cost nothing. You create an account, pick a course, and work through it in your own time - there is no cohort, no selection, and no closing date.

Courses cover networking, cybersecurity, Python, operating systems and data analytics. Introduction to Cybersecurity is listed at six hours with seven labs and is marked beginner level, and it sits inside a longer Junior Cybersecurity Analyst career path if you want to continue.

Everything runs in a browser, so a laptop or a reasonable phone plus data is the practical requirement. The labs are simulated, which means you do not need physical routers or switches to do the exercises.

Completing a course earns a Cisco digital badge you can attach to a CV or LinkedIn profile. That carries real weight in the Douala and Yaounde IT and telecoms market, where the Cisco name is well recognised. The course interface is available in twenty languages including French.

Cisco also runs instructor-led versions through partner institutions and those may charge tuition. The self-paced route described here does not.