500 teenage students a year to get vital cyber skills from new college group

A new technical college has been set up by Fujitsu to prepare students aged 14-19 for the cyber security jobs of tomorrow and address Britain’s cyber skills shortage.

The University Technical College (UTC) Cyber Security Group aims to equip a minimum of 500 students a year with the right cyber skills to be able to hit the ground running when they start employment, and to better prepare those moving into higher education.

Rob Norris, Fujitsu’s vice president of enterprise and cyber security, said: “In light of recent attacks, it is especially important that we do more to help the next generation of students better understand the positive impact that cyber security knowledge can have on their lives and future careers.

At launch, there will be 23 organisations and UTCs who will form the group alongside Fujitsu.

Those involved will have the opportunity to sponsor their local UTC, meaning they can get to know the students personally, potentially offering them a job at the end of the tenure or offering further sponsorship to allow students to go onto higher education.

Each organisation will commit at least five days of teaching and training to UTCs annually over the next three years, ensuring that today’s cyber students are well versed on the current threat landscape and the tools and techniques being most effective in combating threats..