FREDERICTON-A cybersecurity program offered by The Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB) and the Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) is bringing more Indigenous cybersecurity professionals into the workforce.
CCNB says the program recently graduated six Indigenous students, each with Cybersecurity Technician Certificates, directly into jobs in their field.
Not long after launching the program, CCNB and JEDI made adjustments to its delivery to keep the training viable during the Covid-19 pandemic.
CCNB struck up an academic partnership with EC-Council, which maintains a Canadian office in Fredericton and has also become the world’s largest cybersecurity technical certification body.
EC-Council had already helped organizations, educators, and governments address global workforce problems through its cybersecurity education programs.
With EC-Council providing the learning material, students were able to continue learning and gaining experience from home when remote learning was the only option.
The blended learning approach prepared students for a 30-week remote internship, receiving support from CyberNB, which played a role in becoming a strong promoter of the program to potential employers.
The CyberNB team helped first to identify employers interested in taking students for an internship and also assisted in coordinating interviews and helping with recruitment. Grads were able to receive opportunities with companies like Deloitte, McCain, and BulletProof, who each accepted two interns.
At the end of the program, CCNB noted that each graduate received employment opportunities from their respective internship employer.
More importantly, was each graduate’s ability to adapt constantly to their changing conditions and situations, a critical skill in their field of work and one that is highly sought from employers.
Not only has the active involvement of CCNB, JEDI, and CyberNB helped in finding first career steps for the program’s initial six students, there are future cohorts arriving later this year who will receive a similar foundation in the cybersecurity profession.
A fquickly growing sector
The timing for these graduates couldn’t be better aligned to capture the current growth in the cybersecurity industry.
According to a January report from The Business Development Bank of Canada, titled: “Tech Industry Outlook: What’s Next for the Technology Sector in Canada,” over half, (55 percent) of tech entrepreneurs are struggling to hire employees they need.
The report notes those same companies also face increased threats from cybercriminals, stating cybersecurity has increasingly become “a business imperative,” and a massive shift to at-home work for many companies has only fueled the demand for cybersecurity talent.
Immediate opportunities
Employers who might be looking to explore cybersecurity internships with CCNB might have to wait a bit longer, with CCNB and its partnership already confirming at the end of January that its next cohort of graduates is mostly spoken for.
It did state a new cohort of Indigenous students will be looking for internship placements with companies later this spring, with another set of students to possibly start between spring and fall of this year.
Tyler Mclean is a Huddle reporter based in Fredericton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
Indigenous Cybersecurity Students Get Fast Employment Thanks To Partnership - Huddle Today
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