SIMON CARABETTA
THE EDUCATION QUESTION by Simon Carabetta, Project Coordinator at ES2 We in the cybersecurity industry often hear about the
It would be amazing to see schools place the same
skills and experience gap in Australia. I wrote about
emphasis on cyber security as they do on cyber
this recently, in the last issue of Women in Security.
safety. As a former teacher I can certainly understand
We are all well aware there is a mountain of work to
that emphasis and how it links to the overarching
be done to close this gap and futureproof our sector.
values of digital citizenship and student wellbeing.
Some good solutions have been proposed and a
However, we find ourselves in 2022 in an increasingly
number of programs to address the skills gap have
volatile, uncertain and, dare I say, interesting world.
already been launched. However, there is one skills
Young people deserve to understand why the security
gap many of us simply do not mention and do not
of their personal data matters, and they also deserve
understand how to address. That is the skills gap in
to learn the skills to make that security effective.
our primary and secondary education sectors. Fortunately, there is a simple and effective way in Between 2006 and 2019 I was a high school teacher
which cybersecurity can be embedded in schools,
in WA’s public education sector and took a break
and it comes down to following this roadmap:
to spend several years in the Middle East teaching at an international school. Current, former and
1. Provide teacher and school administration
aspiring educators reading this would know teaching
education and development in cybersecurity.
to be a rewarding career, but an extremely taxing
BUT make it simple, clear and fun.
one. There is not sufficient time to teach, develop lesson plans, mark papers, communicate with
2. Develop partnerships between state education
parents, attend mandated weekly meetings, attend
sectors, TAFEs and universities to provide
department meetings, moderate papers, attend
teachers with scholarships to gain cybersecurity
professional development sessions and mark more
qualifications. BUT pay them on the job and get
papers. So perhaps we can forgive the majority of
the Cert IV into schools.
teachers for giving no consideration to the security implications of the technology they and their students
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3. Introduce cybersecurity into the primary and
use, or to embedding awareness of that security into
secondary school curriculums across Australia.
the curriculum.
BUT embed the knowledge and skills in all
W O M E N I N S E C U R I T Y M A G A Z I N E
S E P T E M B E R • O C T O B E R 2022
