Earn-as-you-learn with TAFE Queensland Cybersecurity Traineeship

Australia needs 1.3 million highly skilled tech workers by 2030. That’s an additional 445,000 people with the right skills and knowledge to capitalise on the opportunities of new and disruptive technologies.

Failure to achieve 1.3 million tech workers is estimated to cost the economy $16 billion by 2030.

No one solution will provide enough people to feed the tech talent pipeline and migration, education, upskilling and reskilling and career-switching all have a part to play.

Last month, ACS Industry Skills Advisor, Luisa Grant attended a pioneering event: Beyond the Firewall – Igniting pathways to a career in cybersecurity. In partnership with TAFE Queensland and the Queensland Government, ACS Queensland co-hosted a panel discussion that included industry and education representatives.

The event launched a fully funded 60-person pilot for the Cybersecurity Traineeship, a unique program aimed at reskilling employees with cyber skills.

Offered by TAFE Queensland and resulting in a Certificate IV in Cybersecurity for successful participants, the traineeship will greatly benefit both employees and employers.

Employees studying the traineeship will work towards a nationally recognised qualification while learning valuable skills under the guidance of experienced and specialist teachers.

The skills and experience learnt by employees can enable a mid-career switch, especially as the Cybersecurity Traineeship requires strong interpersonal skills developed in areas such as customer service.

Better still, the traineeship is structured as an 'earn-as-you-learn' program suitable for workers looking to reskill and switch careers.

The Cybersecurity Traineeship will benefit employers by reskilling existing employees to fill cyber roles instead of relying on traditional recruitment practices, which are often a lengthy and expensive search and hire process.

ACS Industry Skills Advisor, Luisa Grant said, “As the number of university graduates decreases, traditional recruitment practices are proving challenging for businesses. The Cybersecurity Traineeship earn-as-you-learn model will immediately introduce cybersecurity skills into the Queensland workforce by allowing workers to apply skills learnt directly on the job.”

The pilot for the Cybersecurity Traineeship is offered free of charge to 60 people. You can discover eligibility, course content and how to apply here.