After a two year break due to Covid, the Smallpeice Trust Charity UK returns to Jersey this week to deliver a series of Cyber Forensic challenge activities for Year 9 students across the island.
Coordinated by Skills Jersey, the workshops will see up to 600 students challenged to solve a complex cyber puzzle, break a series of encryption codes to access a website, and obtain key information by using social engineering tactics to penetrate a secret account.
The Minister for Children and Education, Deputy Scott Wickenden, said: “I’m pleased that Jersey students will get the chance to experience these workshops again. I’m sure they will inspire our young people to develop the skills they need in the 21st century workplace.”
The workshops are being supported by local business and technology firms BDO and JT Global, and will be delivered by specialists from Smallpeice Trust, an educational charity that inspires young people to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Senior Adviser at Skills Jersey, Dave Roworth, said: “The kinds of cyber skills that students will be demonstrating this week are increasingly sought-after by employers world-wide, so I am really pleased that they will be getting a taste of an area that is not always understood or noticed, but which underpins almost every business activity online.”
The sessions will show students about acting safely, legally and ethically online, and will promote career opportunities in cyber security.
Mr Roworth added: “There are exciting career opportunities in Jersey across the digital sector and we want young people in our schools to understand and aspire to these roles.
“It’s great to have local specialists joining the workshops to support students as they are put through their paces, as it exposes them to some of our leading role models from the cyber world of work in Jersey.”
The CEO of BDO, Matthew Corbin, said: “Helping young people in Jersey to develop the technical skills and knowledge that will prepare them to succeed in an increasingly digital world is a responsibility that we believe employers share with the Government of Jersey. That’s why we are proud to be working with Skills Jersey and JT Global to provide these Cyber workshops in schools.”
