Nationwide rollout of cybersecurity courses to meet demand for 11,000 jobs

The Australian federal government is launching two new cybersecurity qualifications in a bid to tackle a future skills deficit.

It says the country’s cyber security industry has the potential to triple in size, with revenues climbing to at least $6bn by 2026, from just over $2bn today. This translates into a need for 11,000 cybersecurity jobs over the next decade in order to meet demand.

The Certificate and Diploma-level qualifications will be offered through TAFE colleges this year – TAFE currently serves around half million students across various campuses and online.

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Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Angus Taylor said: “The sad reality is that there are cybercrime threats to every phone and computer in Australia. With the rapid transformation of cybercrime, there is a risk that businesses, smaller businesses in particular, will say it's all too hard.”

The qualifications have been developed with the help of major industry players, including the National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ Bank, nbnco, Cisco Australia and New Zealand, REA Group, BAE Systems, Telstra, Deloitte, the Australian Information Security Association, ISACA and CITT.

The government also said that many of these companies will be looking to take on graduates from these courses. After successfully completing a pilot at Victoria's Box Hill Institute in Victoria, the courses will be available at the Canberra Institute of Technology, TAFE NSW, TAFE QLD, TAFE WA, and TAFE SA.