DCMS fund new projects aimed at increasing diversity in cyber

29 Jan 2019 01:11 PM

The Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF) is designed to help identify, train and place untapped talent from a range of backgrounds into cyber security

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has committed to funding four new projects across England to encourage more women, BAME and neurodiverse candidates into a career in cyber security, with each benefiting from a total investment of at least £500,000.

The funding forms part of the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF).

The projects receiving funding include:

• Crucial Academy: Diversity in Cyber Security. This initiative based in Brighton looks to retrain veterans in cyber security, in particular focusing on women, neurodiverse candidates and BAME individuals.
• QA: Cyber Software Academy for Women. This project running in London, Bristol, and Manchester will train and place a cohort of women into cyber development job roles within industry. An additional cohort will also be trained in Birmingham as part of the West Midlands Combined Authority Skills Deal.
• Blue Screen IT: HACKED. This Plymouth based initiative will scale up an already existing programme which identifies, trains, and places individuals, including neurodiverse candidates, those with special needs and those from disadvantaged backgrounds into a cyber security career.
• Hacker House Ltd: Hands on Hacking, Training and Employer Portal. This project based online will develop a portal allowing for an increased number of people to be trained and then engage with employers.

Digital Minister Margot James recently said:

“Our cyber security industry is thriving but to support this growing success we need a skilled and diverse workforce to match. These latest projects show that whatever your background, ethnicity or sex, there are opportunities to join the cyber security profession.

“We want to demonstrate that you can have a dynamic and exciting career in a sector that sits at the heart of our economy, and is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”