AS Malaysia transforms itself into a vibrant digital economy, it has become essential for the next generation of workforce in the country to develop their competency in cybersecurity to drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4).
The ‘Elevating IT Education’ Programme (ELITE) designed by Tecforte Sdn Bhd is set to better equip tertiary students with updated cybersecurity technology whereby they can gain first-hand experience on cybersecurity operation and industry grade technologies in a “live” on-campus environment of a Security Operations Center (SOC).
ELITE is a proven programme that primarily focuses on offering practical, hands-on training that can effectively increase career readiness among its students before they even join the cybersecurity industry, according to Tecforte’s business development director Aziz Hussein.
This, he added, is in line with Malaysia’s aspirations to become a cyber-resilient nation. “The industry is finding it increasingly challenging to hire candidates with the matching skills and these gaps are widening rapidly,” he pointed out.
“To address shortages of cybersecurity personnel, Tecforte offers its expertise through ELITE to equip higher education institutions (HEIs) with the capabilities to have their students undergo hands-on training in a ‘live’ security operation centre environment.
“We build an environment where the cybersecurity facility and technology resemble the typical industry setup.”
Locally, ELITE has been adopted by universities and polytechnics which include the Asia Pacific University (APU), Swinburne Malaysia, Politeknik Mersing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Mara.
ELITE expects to award about 1,500 certificates from these institutions this year while at the same time trained more than 100 lecturers.
“With more HEIs coming on board, we target to produce more than 10,000 ELITE alumni within the next few years,” projected Aziz.
In line with ELITE’s objective, students who are certified will improve their chances of securing job opportunities upon graduation.
“As ELITE is relevant not only for Malaysia but also regional countries, our next target is to add to the number of HEI and TVET (technical and vocational education and training) centres adopting the ELITE programme to further enhance the employability of the students,” added Aziz. – Jan 11, 2022
