| The Pan African Communication Technology Association (PAICTA) to open a secure academy (PAICTASA) that will operate programs that are aimed at empowering young people who are primarily from underprivileged communities in the African continent, with a plan to roll it out to the rest of the continent by 2024. Technological advancements occur rapidly across the globe. The rate at which technology develops, changes and advances are at an increasing speed. Hence the threat of cyberattacks is growing along with digitalization, and with it, so is the need for IT security professionals. Undoubtedly the booming era of digitalisation has opened a lot of career opportunities for people across the globe. The objective of PAICTASA is to assist in enhancing professionals and students’ knowledge, competence, and expertise in the fields of information/cyber security, privacy, IT standards, and information/cyber security governance, risk, and compliance. In turn, this will assist organizations in developing the necessary skills and capacities to tackle the challenges posed by the fast-changing cybersecurity industry. In making sure that the academy meets its objective PAICTA has partnered with CompTIA Check Point and Cisco with more partners coming on board in the next six to twelve months. The partnership with the CompTIA allows PAICTASA the chance to provide a vendor-neutral, unbiased source of information on a variety of tech-related topics, such as cybersecurity, the education, training, and certification of African youth and tech workforce. Under CompTIA the academy will offer Security+, CYSA+, CASP+ and PenTest. Under Cisco they offer Introduction to Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Essentials, Cloud Security, CyberOps Associate, Network Security and IoT fundamentals: IoT security. These courses are offered in two ways, Instructor led and online self-paced. Lastly under Check point the academy will provide support to Students of higher education institutions in Africa with vital Cyber Security skills and learning resources namely, Certified Security Administrator (CSA) and Certified Security Expert (CSE). ‘African Youth from marginalised backgrounds are desperate for opportunities to develop digital skills that will result in employment or technopreneurship. They are often unable to access tertiary education due to financial circumstances and lack of information and support. Without education, their future is grim, and the cycle of poverty perpetuates with a negative socio-economic impact to the communities. Given the enormous need for skilled cybersecurity professionals locally, rest of Africa and worldwide, we saw the opportunity to truly make a difference and change lives. Challenging status quo in addressing digital transformation while ensuring inclusivity’ PAICTASA. |
