Sydney 8 March 2024: Today global technical training company Red Education has announced its plans to launch a scholarship program aiming to bring more women into the cybersecurity sector.
The Red Education Women in Cybersecurity Scholarships 2024 will offer four training scholarships that will be open to female final-year undergraduate students, postgraduate students and those in the early stage of their careers, in the information technology field.
Women are vastly underrepresented in cybersecurity and the IT industry as a whole, holding only about a quarter of cybersecurity roles worldwide.
Cyber threats are escalating worldwide and the sector is struggling to recruit enough talent, with millions of unfulfilled cybersecurity roles worldwide, a shortfall that is predicted to continue for many years.
“As a global training provider for the world’s leading cybersecurity brands, we realised that a response was sitting right under our noses,” said Mike Baird, CEO of Red Education.
“We know we can’t solve underrepresentation or the skills shortage overnight, but as a certification training company, we are ideally positioned to help.
The Red Education Women in Cybersecurity Scholarships 2024 are open for applications from 1 April to 30 June 2024.
We are offering four scholarships for entry-level certification – two in each of two leading cybersecurity technologies: Check Point Technologies: Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA) or Palo Alto Networks: EDU-210 Firewall Essentials – Configuration and Management.”
Baird says the idea for the scholarships was born when his team was researching statistics for International Women’s Day.
“International Women’s Day is an important date in our calendars. It is a time when we need to look at what we have accomplished and what we still have to do. In cybersecurity, there is still a lot to do, and of course the next step is to look at how.
Our hope is that these scholarships will not only help deserving individuals launch an exciting career in cybersecurity, but also help increase awareness of the opportunities available to women in the industry, as well as the training that is available and what it might lead to.
Lastly, we need to recognise that International Women’s Day is a great moment for us to take stock and to celebrate where we can, but it is only one day. We need to ensure that our focus and conversations continue to help us track in the right direction, all year round. The cybersecurity industry needs women, and gender is still on the agenda because we still have a long way to go,” Baird said.
Toni Ponder, ATC Partner Program Manager (APAC, EMEA) at Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, said, “Cybersecurity is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. The IT industry seeks skilled individuals to safeguard against cyber threats and attacks. Red Education, in partnership with Check Point Software Technologies, presents an exclusive opportunity for women in technology. Our synergy is indeed a powerful formula to tackle the cybersecurity challenge head-on. So, gear up, embrace the learning, and become a part of the next generation of cyber defenders!”.
About the scholarships
The Red Education Women in Cybersecurity Scholarships 2024 will offer four training scholarships that will be open to female final-year undergraduate students, postgraduate students and those in the early stage of their careers, in the information technology field.
The four scholarships will be for entry-level certifications in leading cybersecurity technologies – two for Palo Alto Networks: EDU-210 Firewall Essentials – Configuration and Management (5 days – RLP US $5,000 each) and two for Check Point Technologies: Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA) (3 days – RLP US $3250 each).
Applications for the scholarships are open from 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.
Applicants will be asked to provide information about themselves, including educational and career information, and will be asked to write 200 words about why they would be a deserving recipient of the scholarship.
About Red Education
Founded in 2005, Red Education is a global training provider for the world’s leading technology brands, headquartered in Sydney, Australia and with hubs across the world, in the Americas, Europe, India, Middle East, ANZ and Asia. Winners of multiple industry awards and accolades, Red Education’s purpose is to address a global skills shortage, enabling skilled personnel to implement critical cybersecurity and networking solutions. More than 70 Red Education instructors across multiple regions and time zones deliver technical training programs to the IT community in multiple languages. We are proud to have earned an NPS score of 84 from our students and a 98% customer satisfaction rating.
