It is such a big deal, that it’s hard to know where to start. How about almost insurmountable global job growth? Or a widely-recognised skills shortage? And dire consequences – such as the recent global hacking crisis – if these industry demands aren’t met?
“The recent Russian cyber threats, targeting up to 400 Australian companies, highlight that it’s more crucial than ever to have trained professionals who are equipped to prevent and deal with these risks,” says Dr Khandakar Ahmed, IT lecturer at Victoria University.
Endless career opportunities
According to the report ‘Hacking the Skills Shortage’, by 2019 there will be 1 million to 2 million cyber security job vacancies worldwide. Meanwhile, in Australia, more than 80 per cent of IT decision makers believe there is a skills shortage in cyber security both in their organisation and throughout the nation.
Our leaders are catching on, with the Federal Government allocating $81.1 million of the annual budget for science and technology into web and data security. The Victorian Government also opened the CSIRO's Data61 hub in 2016 – staffed by 140 workers.
Fighting cyber crime
IBM President and CEO Ginni Rometty described cybercrime as:
“The greatest threat to every profession, every industry, every company in the world”.
As technology surges forward, so too do unthinkable threats to our security. You can join the fight, by studying an IT course and upskilling or joining the industry. From TAFE, to higher education and postgraduate specialisations, VU has courses that focus on cyber security, mobile networking, cloud technology, software engineering, data anlytics and more.
Join the cyber revolution
If you were ever thinking about getting into cyber security or IT – now is the time. Whether you’re entering the industry for the first time; or need to upskill in order to meet industry demands, you will be at a huge advantage with a higher qualification.
As Senior Capacity Planner, Telstra, Melbourne Australia Dr Farukh M Rahman says, the global issue of cyber crime requires swift action in the form of skilled experts.
"Individuals are losing their hard-earned money and personal information. Corporate networks and sensitive customer information – even government sites and systems are hacked to create massive chaos. So it is the upmost priority to respond by adopting strict cyber security measures; and ensure that enough skilled resources are developed."
