The National College of Ireland (NCI) and IBM are to begin collaborating to meet the growing demand for cybersecurity skills shortage in Ireland.
The new joint industry-academia initiative sees 50 IBM employees studying NCI certified Higher Diploma in Cybersecurity at IBM Technology Campus, Dublin.
IBM students are expected to qualify at the end of this year and further enrolments are planned.
NCI academics deliver the course to IBM employees onsite two evenings a week and on Saturdays. This new initiative is part of NCI’s active engagement with industry.
The collaboration will focus on continuous learning and is created under the Irish Government’s Springboard+ initiative which aims to upskill people in employment in areas where skills shortages exist; like information technology and cybersecurity.
Speaking today, Vice President at the IBM Ireland Lab and Technology Campus in Dublin, Bill Kearney said, “Industry leaders need to take an active part in resolving the talent issues we’re facing, by investing in new models and extending the skills pipeline to focus on academic collaboration and hands-on experience.”
“This collaboration with NCI is helping us identify qualified professionals and offer them training & upskilling while making inroads into the supply-demand gap of available roles in cybersecurity.”
