Unitec partners with Datacom for first NZ Diploma in Cybersecurity

(Headline abbreviated, original headline: Unitec partners with Datacom to offer New Zealand’s first cybersecurity diploma)

Auckland, 29 January, 2020 – As cybersecurity threats increase around the world, the global shortage of trained experts in the area is becoming a significant challenge for businesses.

Research from (ISC)² , the world’s largest not-for-profit association of cyber security professionals, estimates a worldwide skills gap of almost three million with approximately two million of these in the Asia Pacific region. A recent study of the cybersecurity talent market in Australia and NZ undertaken by Hays, found that over 60% of organisations found recruiting for cybersecurity talent either “difficult” or “very difficult”.

Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology is launching a one-year vocational New Zealand Diploma in Cybersecurity, the country’s first tertiary institution to have developed a cyber qualification in the pre-degree space (Level 6).

“In an industry stymied by an increasing skills shortage, we’re helping develop our own homegrown talent and ensuring we deliver what industry needs,” said Dila Beisembayeva, Academic Programme Manager at Unitec’s School of Computing and Information Technology, who has been developing the qualification for the past couple of years, working closely with NZQA, ITP New Zealand and industry.

“We’re bridging the gap between education and industry, while at the same time providing employment opportunities for students and equipping them with skills for jobs.”

Unitec has worked with New Zealand’s largest tech company, Datacom, to develop the course and Datacom has signed up to host 10 students at its Security Operations Centre in Auckland.

David Eaton, Associate Director of Cybersecurity Services at Datacom, is part of the ministerial Cyber Security Skills Taskforce and is a huge supporter of the course.

“We have asked ourselves how best to support students who’ve come through the course, and have created a strongly mentored training environment to ensure that the students are coming to Datacom not just to learn, but to learn through working. This is the living embodiment of the Future of Work - we train them as they study.”

The programme starts at Unitec in February, 2020 and is a 120-credit, Level 6 programme. It can be completed in one year (full-time) or over 18 months to four years (part-time). Further information is available here.

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