The UK Government and Open University are to team up to offer a cyber security course that will teach 200,000 people.
According to v3, Cabinet Office deputy director of Cyber Defence and Incident Management Natalie Black said the initiative will help develop cyber skills in Britain. “At the moment we are working very hard to develop a pipeline of cyber talent. We are working hard with e-skills to give people the opportunity to transfer to cyber careers and very soon we’ll be launching a new initiative at the Open University where we hope to allow 200,000 people to study cyber security online.”
While the date for launch is not clear, it was announced that the effort will share real-time information with students and see an effort for the OU to work closer with industry. Sitting as part of the Cyber Security Strategy and drawing from the £860 million donated by the Government to the cyber effort, this is a serious step forward by Westminster.
We have already seen efforts by academia to move further into the cyber area, and with tens of thousands of bodies needed to fill the gap, maybe this could be a solution.
