Cyber security

I attended a meeting last night about the skills gap in cyber security, held in the Scottish Government offices in Glasgow. The event was organised by Martin Beaton of Sicsa. It was one of a number of events around Scotland to discuss what can be done to improve the "supply pipeline" of young people entering university to study information security. At present, too few people are undertaking degrees in this area to satisfy the demand from employers.

We had an interesting discussion about what could be done to stimulate interest. One of the suggestions was to develop qualifications and/or badges in this area. So there is a possibility that SQA may develop National Progression Awards in Cyber Security. The teachers present certainly thought that something like that would be very popular in schools.

There were other ideas too. One of the barriers to schools doing more in this area is lack of teacher expertise in data security and it was recognised that training was needed.

It was a good meeting with lots of positive suggestions. Martin will continue the "road show" in other locations around Scotland. I'll let you know what comes out of it.