IET responds to cyber security announcement
As part of National Apprenticeship Week, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has announced new initiatives to help young people kick start a career in cyber security.
Hugh Boyes from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), said: “With increasing threats to systems and new vulnerabilities emerging daily, there is an urgent need to develop a pipeline of qualified and experienced cyber security professionals to safeguard our systems and infrastructure in the future.
“Our own research highlighted that a significant lack of skilled workers is hampering the UK's fight against cyber-crime. The new initiatives announced today will go some way to plugging the skills gap in this area but there is still much to be done to strengthen the UK’s cyber security industry, which is worth £6 billion a year.
“Put simply, we need significant investment in education and training at all levels in the UK so that more people will enter the profession and help us fight cyber-crime in the years ahead.”
Notes to editors:
§ Interview opportunities are available with IET spokespeople from a broad range of engineering and technology disciplines including cyber-security, energy, engineering skills, innovation, manufacturing, technology, transport and women in engineering.
§ The IET is one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with nearly 160,000 members in 127 countries. It is also the most multidisciplinary – to reflect the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. Energy, transport, manufacturing, information and communications, and the built environment: the IET covers them all.
§ The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing our members, engineers and technicians, and all those who are touched by, or touch, the work of engineers.
§ We want to build the profile of engineering and change outdated perceptions about engineering in order to tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
§ For more information, visit www.theiet.org
