- Profiles show mix of graduates, professionals and cyber-enthusiasts amongst UK’s top cyber talent
- Students keen to hear from employers looking to bring world-class cyber expertise on board
The SANS Institute, the world’s largest and most trusted source of information security training, has announced the profiles of its final 32 Cyber Academy students – a mix of recent graduates, cyber enthusiasts, military-leavers and professionals – who are preparing to undertake an intense eight weeks of cyber training at the first ever SANS Cyber Academy.
The inaugural Academy cohort is made up of seven recent graduates, 21 people who have begun working in related technical industries and are now looking to break into cyber security, and four people from outside the industry, including one recent military leaver. A number have been involved in the Cyber Security Challenge, including two former Masterclass contestants.
The profiles of the 32 Cyber Academy students can now be viewed upon request by potential employers looking to invest in the best cyber security talent on the market. The students were selected from 24,000 UK candidates who completed a skills and aptitude assessment and series of interviews.
One successful candidate, Alex Holland, is currently studying law at King’s College London.
Alex says: “Information security involves many different disciplines and understanding the legal and policy as well as the technical aspects of the field is vital. The cyber academy training will cover both legal compliance and forensic computing which I am particularly interested in. Computing has always been a hobby, and to combine my interests in information security and law is perfect for me.”
“If you are new to the cyber security industry it is difficult to know how to reach employers so this initiative is a fantastic opportunity and a great way to address the cyber skills gap. Not only does it provide a new route into the industry, it also matches employees with the employment opportunities they are best suited to.”
Matthew Tellier, a Systems Operations Manager, had been looking to break into the cyber security industry for some time and had recently been accepted to study an MSc in Information Security.
Matthew said, “The Academy really appeals because it compresses everything into a short course and provides the practical depth that academic courses can’t. The difficulty with breaking into the cyber security industry is that the majority of companies recruiting for these roles want someone with practical experience and there are very few practical training opportunities around.”
Mark Robinson, a former Senior Server Administrator, has reached two Cyber-Security Challenge UK Masterclass finals and has been thinking about moving into the cyber-security industry for a few years.
Mark says: “I’ve been interested in security since I started using computers at college, but it’s always been a hobby. SANS is the leader in IT security training so when they put this boot camp together I could see it was packed with the courses relevant to the areas I’m trying to break into. I’m looking forward to meeting like minded people, learning from them as well as the latest cyber security techniques from the SANS instructors”
Employers will have an opportunity to meet and interview the students part way through their course in October at the SANS Recruitment Fair. Employers that express an interest will be given early access to anonymised profiles of each candidate based on their skills and aptitude assessment, interviews and CV, so they can review suitability for specific roles.
Steve Jones, UK Managing Director of SANS, says: “These students come from all walks of life, but represent the top cyber security talent in the UK. They have already proven they have the potential to become the top cyber security professionals of the future, but after the Cyber Academy training they will be ready to meet any cyber security challenge an organisation has to offer.”
The eight week training course will provide the students with bespoke training matched directly to current industry and government skills requirements. This will include three internationally renowned SANS courses and three GIAC certifications.
About SANS Cyber Academy
SANS Cyber Academy is a unique programme designed to meet widening demand from enterprise and government for skilled security professionals.
Through intensive, residential training SANS Cyber Academy creates polished and deployable security professionals in just eight weeks. To create professionals of comparable quality and skill, the traditional graduate recruitment and training process would typically take around two years.
Cyber Academy runs annually. Each intake offers a limited number of places, and aims to propel the very best prospective candidates into an exciting career in cyber security.
Cyber Academy also offers employers an opportunity to recruit new professionals who can be deployed immediately into mission-critical roles.
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