This weekend, Edinburgh Napier University will become a cyber security training ground, opening its doors to some of Scotland’s most talented young cyber security enthusiasts.
Some 42 candidates, from Scottish universities, will spend three days in a ‘boot camp’, where they will get an insight into the cyber security industry, with IT security exercises and workshops hosted by Cyber Security Challenge UK and developed by organisations including the National Crime Agency, Raytheon, BT, Grillatech, National Grid, BAE Systems, CompTIA, Infosec Skills, Cyber Management Alliance and Dr Jessica Barker.
In addition to help and advice on the technical skills required in industry, the candidates will receive tips on interview techniques, social media networking and CV writing to improve their chances of landing their first job in cyber security and help towards making contacts in the industry. Each candidate will be signed-up to an accredited, industry-respected cyber-related foundation qualification, which they can complete within three months of the camp.
Cyber Security Challenge UK is also offering anyone in Scotland with an interest in cyber security careers, the chance to come along and find out how they could get into the industry. Businesses across the globe are struggling with a major skills gap in cyber security, and are struggling to recruit people that are capable of protecting them from data breaches. With the shortage of skilled workers in the cyber industry due to reach 1.5m worldwide by 2020 – according to (ISC)2, the association of cyber security professionals. The doors to the careers fair will be open from noon to 2pm on Monday, March 7; visit Foyer at Merchiston Campus.
“In recent years we’ve seen a rise in the number tech-savvy individuals coming from Scotland, putting it on the map globally with the likes of Rockstar North taking the gaming market by a storm and Amazon’s software development centre setting up base in Edinburgh,” said Debbie Tunstall, programme manager at Cyber Security Challenge UK. “We need these talented individuals to consider a career in cyber security, a lucrative industry that is crying out for talent, and our camps and careers days are designed to show just how that can be achieved. We can’t wait to see what Scotland has to show us.”
Cyber Security Challenge UK runs a series of events and competitions nationwide to find UK hidden cyber security talent. Anyone can take part by signing up to one of the virtual competitions on the play-on-demand platform; and, if successful, could make it through to the Masterclass competition where the best players in the country compete to see whose best, while an industry panel scores them and looks for recruits.
Professor Bill Buchanan, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing, said: “Our Cyber Academy integrates with law enforcement, industry and universities across the World. A key focus is to match the current requirements for skills within Cyber Security, and this camp aims to highlight the range of opportunities, along with providing students with the opportunity to practice their skills in challenging environments. It is supported by several of the leading companies in Cyber Security, including Raytheon, who have created an advanced training scenario.”
