Educating our young Australians about the risks they’ll face online is important, but so is offering them the opportunity to learn about cyber security at a deep level. The Australian Computing Academy (ACA), this week launched the Schools Cyber Security Challenges (Cyber Challenges) in Western Australia.
The new $1.3 million national program will see a cybersecurity curriculum taught to Australian students in years 7-10 for the first time. As kids learn about computers, there’s always the risk that they’ll fall into the dark parts of the internet, like they could fall into the dark parts of society if they mix with the wrong social circles.
One of the best strategies to fight against this is to offer student a window into a cyber security career, one that helps our country fight global challenges. Careers in this area are some of the highest paid as they demand technical excellence and a serious attention to detail, as well as creativity in responding to the ever changing threat actors.
This will benefit the industry as a whole by increasing the number of people coming through the ranks and protecting both enterprises and Government in WA.
According to AustCyber, Australia will need 18,000 more cybersecurity workers by the year 2026, making it critical for Australia’s economic prosperity to build a highly skilled and educated cybersecurity workforce.
The Schools Cyber Security Challenges are now available in WA High Schools and have been developed to showcase a positive collaboration between government, industry and the education sector.
They are delivered free and come with classroom-ready student and teacher resources designed to promote cybersecurity skills. The materials are fully aligned with the Western Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies and the ICT Capability.
Below is an example of the diverse resources available in the curriculum.
The launch event included an expert panel discussion with industry leaders discussing the importance of cyber security skills development in schools and the role education must play in the future of this emerging capability of our students and teachers.
The Schools Cyber Security Challenges have some big partners including ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, BT and AustCyber.
More information available at here.
