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A new initiative has been established to fill Australia’s burgeoning cyber security skills gap.
AustCyber has partnered with Microsoft to launch a new Cyber Security Traineeship Program, aimed at enhancing job opportunities for approximately 200 participants over the next three years.
The partnership recently received a funding boost from the Commonwealth government's Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund (CSSPIF), expected to help broaden access to cyber industry programs.
The Australia's Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan estimates approximately 26,500 workers employed across the sector, with a further 7,000 needed to fill gaps by 2024.
"Microsoft and AustCyber are working nationally with group training providers, industry micro-credential trainers, educational institutions, and large and small cyber security industry stakeholders to develop Australia's next generation of cyber talent,” AustCyber CEO Michelle Price said.
The traineeship program is set to kick off with a Cyber Skills Bootcamp, designed to encourage participation from a diverse range of candidates, including women, veterans, First Nations people, neurologically diverse people, displaced workers and other minority groups.
The training will be delivered by a selection of service providers, in a bid to improve the flexibility of training locations and establish a baseline level of skills to facilitate entry into the Certificate IV in Cyber Security.
"This vocational qualification will be bolstered with vendor and industry micro-credentials for real-world applicable skills,” Price added.
“By developing this as a paid traineeship, our cyber trainees will earn whilst they learn, developing vital on-the-job skills in their employment with a cohort of employment partners."
Eligible participants will be matched with an employer from AustCyber and Microsoft's industry partners, spanning from cyber SMEs to large organisations.
It is anticipated that this would provide participants with on-the-job experience and the opportunity to expedite post-graduation employment with the same employer.
"We're proud to be working with AustCyber on this initiative," Mark Anderson, chief security officer for Microsoft Australia, said.
"It's vitally important we create career pathways to fast-track people into cyber careers and we know that this Traineeship model is a successful way in doing just that, having supported 250 Australians to enter cloud computing careers since 2020 through a similar program.
"Microsoft is incredibly focused on increasing the diversity of our technology workforce, and it's exciting to be able to offer people a bridge into cyber careers through a free Bootcamp Course and this Cyber Traineeship.”
News Editor – Defence and Security, Momentum Media
Prior to joining the defence and aerospace team in 2020, Charbel was news editor of The Adviser and Mortgage Business, where he covered developments in the banking and financial services sector for three years. Charbel has a keen interest in geopolitics and international relations, graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in politics and journalism. Charbel has also completed internships with The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts and public relations agency Fifty Acres
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