Cisco today recommitted on its plan to invest $5 billion in 5G during the next three years. The vendor is targeting new opportunities around 5G, including virtualized networks and a repositioning of mobile connectivity as a primary and reliable data source for business.

That shift is also driving rapid changes in Cisco’s workforce, said Francine Katsoudas, executive vice president and chief people officer at Cisco, in an interview on CNN. “The $5 billion absolutely shows our commitment as it relates to our people,” she said.

“They know that everything is changing. And in some cases I think we know exactly where it’s going and in other cases we’re going to learn a lot,” Katsoudas said. “Our employees, they realize that their skills and capabilities are going to have to evolve as technology changes.”

Cisco, which originally made the $5 billion commitment for 5G in February, is also building strategies and programs to prepare its workforce for new jobs and opportunities that 5G will enable. “We’re going to have to change our mindset, and we’re going to have to realize that our roles are going to be changing on a regular cadence. I think learning now will be something that we just do on an ongoing basis,” Katsoudas said.

5G deployments are gathering momentum in many countries, but most of the services and capabilities that 5G promises to enable for enterprises are years away. Cisco is preparing for that future now, and its $5 billion investment is part of that effort.

“We have to prepare our people ahead of time, and so we’re using technology now to help them understand the skills they have which is really important. And then we’re working with them to understand what roles they want in the future and bridging the gap,” Katsoudas said.

She acknowledged that government will have to get involved, particularly at a state level, to foster development and resources for the jobs of the future, but technology firms like Cisco also have a big role to play in that objective.

“Tech has impacted industries in very different ways, and for us to ensure that we don’t see a broader divide we’re going to have to do more to bring tech to some of those industries that really need to see the revolution,” she said. “My sense is that in this next world there’s going to be many different paths, not just one.”