iscover
Daniel CroftShare this article on:
Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
The NSW government has announced a plethora of new courses designed to bolster the nation’s digital presence.
The 19 new courses will teach skills across a gamut of digital topics, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cyber security, all of which will be taught the state’s brand-new Institute of Applied Technology (IAT).
“These courses have been developed hand-in-glove with industry to meet current and emerging skill needs,” said Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens.
The new institution and courses come at a time where Australia has become a major target for cyber attacks and crime, following a barrage of breaches with Optus, Medibank, Defence contractor ForceNet and more.
According to the Australian National University (ANU), around one in three Australians (32.1 per cent) have been exposed to data breaches over the last 12 months. This equates to around 6.4 million people.
The ANU also found that cyber crime is one of the fastest growing forms of crime nationwide, and trust in telecommunications and other major institutions has declined.
“At a time when cyber attacks are on the rise, this training will allow people to quickly build the skills we need for a strong and safe digital economy,” added Henskens.
“With Australia needing another 17,000 cyber professionals by 2026, now is the time for people to enroll in courses at our new IAT and get the skills they need for jobs in cyber security, digital forensics, data engineering, machine learning, and more.”
Education is set to play a major role in bolstering the future of the cyber sector in Australia, with Macquarie Government advising the ADF to train new cyber perspectives through TAFE and other education institutions.
Macquarie Government is the subsidiary of the ASX-listed Macquarie Telecom Group that provides 42 per cent of cyber security services to Commonwealth agencies.
In addition, the Albanese government has been heavily urged to bolster the cyber capabilities of the nation in response to the rising rate of major data breaches.
Companies that fail to secure important data could face penalties of tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The new IAT facility located in Meadowbank, which was developed in partnership between TAFE NSW, Microsoft, University of Technology Sydney, and Macquarie University, is now taking enrolments for its opening in February next year. It also plans to release another 16 courses in time for Semester 2, 2023.
[Related: Suspected Medibank hackers begin to leak customer data sample]
Be the first to hear the latest developments in the cyber industry.
