Te Whatu Ora taking on cybersecurity apprentices
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand will take up to 10 paid cybersecurity apprentices as part of a collaboration with Te Pūkenga, Microsoft and TupuToa, to help fill the gap in cybersecurity experts in New Zealand, and boost diversity.
The organisations have collaborated to deliver cybersecurity training and apprenticeships and make these more accessible, particularly to Māori and Pacific people, who are underrepresented in the technology sector.
Across Aotearoa there has been 65 percent growth in cybersecurity roles, but the number of people with cybersecurity skills has not increased.
Te Pūkenga is developing a micro-credential in cybersecurity - due to start in March 2023 - which will include on-campus and work-based experience.
Te Whatu Ora is the first to offer the apprenticeships, which will be around six months long and include Microsoft certifications.
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Te Whatu Ora national chief information security officer Sonny Taite says the apprenticeship model is well proven in terms of equity and will allow people to be trained on the job, on the toolsets used today, and in the health environment.
“Tauira (apprentices) will earn while they learn, which opens up training opportunities to a much wider group of people. We will not only be providing apprenticeships but a direct pathway for rangatahi and anyone else wanting a change in career to advance into senior cyber security roles,” he says.
Taite says being paid while learning removes a barrier to pursuing careers in data and digital and he hopes other big organisations will get involved. “Work integrated programs create the skills that are needed today and also needed in the future. We need to operate at scale across the tech sector, creating initiatives that deliver thousands of people into cybersecurity roles each year,” he says. “The pace of digitalisation is not slowing down, and with that comes the associated threats and risks that we need to protect against.” Taite says collaboration with Te Pūkenga, TupuToa, Microsoft and co-design partners including Tokona Te Raki, means further options to progress will be available to apprentices. Depending on their background and knowledge of IT, they can be supported by further training or into a career. “Working in health has such important purpose, we think that when these young people learn and work with us on cybersecurity, that they will become passionate about it and will stay with us in the health sector,” he says.
Anne Fitisemanu, chief executive of social enterprise TupuToa, says the programme was designed to reflect the needs and experiences of all New Zealanders, applying the organisation’s experience of supporting Māori and Pacific Island peoples into careers.
“Protecting sensitive data and privacy is difficult when you don’t have a true understanding of what that means to different people. Te Pūkenga has nationwide reach that can help more tauira into new career pathways, while making Aotearoa a much safer place to be,” she explains.
Vanessa Sorenson, managing director, Microsoft New Zealand, says the incredible rate of digitisation means there are huge opportunities for people looking for a career in this space.
“Cybersecurity isn’t just about technical skill – we need people who understand human behaviour, or who can teach vital safety skills - so we want to open those doors as wide as possible,” she says.
While the programme is available to all, Māori and Pacific Island tauira will be further supported in their training with wraparound pastoral care from TupuToa.
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