CIT cybersecurity students Jake Dew and Alicia Madrid and Lego Canberra: “Cybersecurity is fun!” Photos: Ian Bushnell.
Meet the new cyber warriors Australia’s critical infrastructure will rely on to withstand external attacks and keep running.
Jake Dew and Alicia Madrid are two of the students at CIT Woden’s new $5 million Cyber Security TAFE Centre of Excellence, launched on Monday (15 September) by Federal Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles and ACT Skills, Training and Industrial Relations Minister Michael Pettersson.
The centre will play a crucial role in building the workforce needed to defend Australian interests, particularly critical infrastructure like transport, power and water.
Tech-loving gamer Jake moved from regional Victoria after finishing a Certificate II in Information Technology.
He researched where to study next, and Canberra offered the highest-paying jobs, stability, and a safe environment.
“It just made sense to come study at CIT,” he said.
Alicia, a Canberran, has an office background and no prior cyber experience, but the ACT Government’s STEM strategy for women inspired her to investigate courses and identify CIT’s Certificate IV as a great starting point for her.
Being eligible for the government’s fee-free scheme was also an incentive to take up the course.
“Being in the course, I can see that there is a lack of women in it, so I’m proud to be one of the few female students that’s in the classes and studying online,” she said.
Both praised the practical, hands-on nature of their CIT studies, which include a Lego Canberra model under construction to simulate attacks on critical infrastructure.
Jake said the content was job-relevant and preparing them to be job-ready, particularly with the centre’s connection with the Canberra Cyber Hub.
“One of the biggest problems that job seekers face is that you need experience to get a job, and you need a job to get experience,” he said.
“So you’re going to get the skills and knowledge here at CIT and then, with collaboration with the Canberra Cyber hub, you’re going to get on-the-job training, so at the end of your job certificate, you’ll have all the experience that you need to work straight away.
“And cybersecurity is fun.”
Jake said they were not just learning how to defend against attacks but how to mount them, so they understood it from both sides.
The jointly funded Centre of Excellence will train students in how to tackle and prevent national cyber threats, and boost cyber literacy across Australia’s workforce.
Tailored cyber courses will be developed to address emerging skills gaps, including initiatives for senior secondary students, cross-sector workers and final-year trades students aspiring to become small business owners.
The centre will serve as a hub for TAFEs across Australia, with a focus on strengthening Australia’s sovereign cyber security capability, including in energy, utilities and critical infrastructure.
It will also help build a pipeline of cyber-ready workers by fast-tracking higher and degree-equivalent apprenticeship pathways and developing microcredentials for university graduates.
ACT Skills, Training and Industrial Relations Minister Michael Pettersson and Federal counterpart Andrew Giles.
Mr Petterson said Canberra had been at the forefront of cybersecurity for a long time and was well-positioned to host the centre.
He said Australia was roughly 60,000 digital workers short of where it needs to be in 2030 to keep the economy and government systems protected from cyberattacks.
“We’re currently experiencing a tsunami of cyber vulnerability,” Mr Pettersson said.
“Most Australians can either speak to their own experience or the experience of someone they know who’s had their personal information breached, and they’re aware of mechanisms of government or corporate entities that have been exposed to cyber attacks.”
Mr Pettersson said this had real consequences in the economy, national security, and the way that individuals interact with each other online and through digital infrastructure.
“We need to make sure that as a city, as a society, as a country, that we are equipped for the emerging threats that are online.”
Mr Giles said it was absolutely critical that Australia recruited more people into cybersecurity, particularly women.
“We also need to make sure that those skill sets are fit for purpose, and as the threats evolve, the skill sets need to evolve too, and that’s why this Centre of Excellence is so absolutely important nationally as well as here in the ACT,” he said.
CIT CEO Dr Margot McNeill said the centre was a fantastic extension of Canberra’s position already in the cybersecurity ecosystem.
Dr McNeill said CIT could build on existing cybersecurity courses and build different types of qualifications to rapidly upskill to address skills gaps.
“It’s critical,” she said.
“If you think about even the last 12 months, there’s been about a 13 per cent increase in the number of cybersecurity attacks.
“So being able to address that gap by rapidly upskilling learners, particularly existing workers, will be fantastic, and that’ll be the focus of this Centre of Excellence.”
The centre will also partner with the CIT’s Electric Vehicle (EV) TAFE Centre of Excellence to identify cyber risks in electric vehicles.
Mr Pettersson said he would not speculate on some of the chatter in national security circles regarding electric vehicles.
“There’s an interesting conversation as our vehicles become more advanced, more connected, more online, the possible vulnerabilities that might exist for that technology,” he said.
