Cyber security training centre to fuel growing industry
Education
A cyber security training centre has opened in Adelaide to help provide the next generation of professionals to the growing industry.
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The state-of-the-art training centre is located at TAFE SA’s Adelaide City campus and will be home to one of the vocational training institution’s fastest growing courses, a Certificate IV in Cyber Security.
The course is the first national skills-based cyber security certificate level qualification and has been developed in collaboration with a range of industry partners to make sure education and training is aligned with job and skill requirements.
South Australia has a strong focus on defence and space and is also positioning itself as a leader in cyber security.
TAFE SA Chief Executive David Coltman said the training centre would play a critical role in supplying cyber security workers to meet the increased demand over the next decade.
“Having skilled workers in the ICT industry who can monitor, secure and mitigate against any risks is a requirement that the industry has identified, and TAFE SA is responding to these needs by training the next generation of cyber skilled technicians in a new state-of-the-art facility,” he said.
“We are currently delivering a 12-month Certificate IV in Cyber Security and this new centre offers students the latest training in the field, while also allowing us to add further qualifications in cyber security to our scope of training.”
The TAFE SA cyber security training centre includes a red ‘attack’ room and blue ‘defence’ room to provide students with real-life scenarios, simulations and testing opportunities.
Adelaide will also be home to the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre, which is being established at the Lot Fourteen innovation neighbourhood this year.
Lot Fourteen is in the heart of Adelaide and will also be home to the Australian Space Agency and the Defence and Space Landing Pad, which will support the relocation of international companies to South Australia.
Last month it was announced that French cyber tech company Squad would also establish a presence at Lot Fourteen.
Squad is the latest of a number of French companies setting up in Adelaide since French shipbuilder Naval Group won the contract to design and build 12 Attack Class submarines for the Australian Navy.
South Australia is pivotal in Australia’s AU$90 billion plan to regenerate the Royal Australian Navy with new submarines, frigates and offshore patrol vessels. The Attack class submarines will be built at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, which is undergoing a $500 million upgrade.
The AU$8.9 million Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre will support startups, scale-ups and existing businesses to launch new products and services into global markets.
The South Australian state government has signed memorandum of understandings with national security agencies and universities as well as Optus, Symantec and Dtex Systems to be members of the cyber centre.
A report by Australia’s CSIRO scientific research organisation found that Australia’s small cyber security industry is expected to grow from around 20,000 workers today to 31,600 by 2026 and triple its revenue to $6 billion.
The report also states that “the majority of Australian organisations currently lack the capacity to employ large internal cyber security teams”.
The Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre will include a Cyber Launchpad, made up of a Cyber Academy and Cyber Test Range. The Cyber Academy will train all levels of the cyber workforce, raise awareness in high schools, and provide formal training at the technical, professional and C-suite level.
The Cyber Test Range will allow organisations to carry out security testing of equipment or network configurations. It will also provide a mix of internet facing and isolated networks for local cyber startups to showcase their tools to their fullest in a safe environment.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said building a trained and skilled workforce was the key to advancing the state’s cyber industry and capabilities.
“Our focus is to position South Australia as a global leader in the cyber security industry, which will not only protect our most important assets and defence projects from cyber attacks, but also create new job opportunities and stimulate economic growth for our state,” he said.
“While cyber threats will continue to escalate globally and we must be prepared to protect our state, we also need to look at the business opportunity that this growing global cyber sector offers.”
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