Earlier this fall, NBCC launched our new five-year strategic plan, Together We Rise. Together We Rise outlines NBCC’s vision of success. We will transform lives and communities by pursuing three goals.
First, NBCC will welcome 10,000 learners by 2022. Welcoming more learners requires us to be flexible and responsive to learner needs and to the labour market.
Secondly, we will enrich the NBCC Advantage. Part of this NBCC advantage is that our graduates are employed and prepared for success. To achieve this, we need to continue to develop quality, relevant programs which respond to emerging labour market needs.
Thirdly, we will build our capacity to grow. Growth will not occur in isolation; we will continue to nurture our relationships with our trusted partners and explore opportunities for new collaborations.
Cybersecurity offers one such area of collaboration. Security violations, data breaches and privacy failures are ever-growing threats to businesses and individuals. Cybercrime damages are predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021. IBM and Ponemon Institute estimate that the average total organizational cost of a data breach is $6 million. The longer it takes to detect and contain a data breach, the more costly it becomes to resolve. There is a growing demand for cybersecurity resources to address this threat. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts there will be 3.5 million job vacancies globally by 2021.
New Brunswick is the first Canadian province to develop a cybersecurity strategy and CyberNB, a Special Operating Agency of Opportunities NB (ONB), has positioned New Brunswick as the Canadian epicentre of cybersecurity. CyberNB’s CyberSmart strategy aims to create the right environment to develop human resources and help mitigate the global shortage. This includes working with educational institutions to build world-class cybersecurity education.
In collaboration with CyberNB, NBCC is launching a new, one-year advanced diploma program in Cybersecurity, starting in September 2018 at our Saint John campus. This new program will provide graduates with the skills and knowledge that industry is seeking, and help expand the cybersecurity infrastructure in New Brunswick. Through classroom theory and hands-on projects, learners in our advanced diploma program will develop the skills to identify, analyze and mitigate threats to internal IT systems and networks. They’ll explore the systems, tools and concepts used to minimize the risk to an organization’s cyberspace, and the standards and procedures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and information systems. As one of the world’s fastest growing technology fields, the demand for cybersecurity professionals has never been higher.
NBCC’s post-graduate programs provide hands-on, practical skills and experience that complement a university degree or college diploma. Through this new Cybersecurity program, graduates of diploma or degree programs in Information Technology will have the opportunity to develop specialized skills in an area that is anticipated to see growing employment needs.
NBCC is a significant contributor to New Brunswick’s social and economic prosperity, so we welcome the opportunity to work with CyberNB in making New Brunswick a national leader in cybersecurity. Not only is this a growing sector for employment opportunities, but it’s also essential in ensuring the security of New Brunswick businesses, organizations and individuals. This new program will provide graduates with the skills and knowledge that industry is seeking and help expand the cybersecurity infrastructure in New Brunswick. Through this partnership, we’re demonstrating how new collaborations can help us meet the aspirations of learners and the needs of the labour market.
We are eager to welcome our first learners to this new cybersecurity program in September, and we look forward to many more collaborations with CyberNB, ONB, and our industry partners.
To apply for NBCC’s new cybersecurity program visit nbcc.ca.
Written by NBCC