Expanding and diversifying Canada's cybersecurity talent.
Cyber talent demand in Canada continues to increase amidst an acute shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals. Employers are faced with the challenge of attracting, recruiting and retaining this talent to meet the growing needs of the cybersecurity sector.
To make the sector more accessible to Canadians from diverse backgrounds, the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst launched the Accelerated Cybersecurity Training Program (ACTP) in 2020. This program is specifically designed to give women, new Canadians, and workers seeking employment the skills they need to launch a career in the cybersecurity sector.
A dual client model, the program works with both Canadian cybersecurity employers to understand their needs and influence hiring practices, and with learners to expand the candidate pool to traditionally excluded groups. The program focuses on recruiting learners that are Black, Indigenous and/or people of colour (BIPOC), women and newcomers, and supports learners’ development and job search.
In 2022, we released a A Race for Talent: Insights from Canadian Cybersecurity Employers. In this report, we shared the key questions addressed in our research, the high-level findings that speak to these questions and recommendations for programs like the ACTP and for cybersecurity employers to effectively address the growing gap between demand and supply of cybersecurity talent in Canada. Learn more here.
In developing and delivering the ACTP, the Catalyst took a dual-client approach, working with both Canadian cybersecurity employers and learners in their program. With employers, they worked to understand their needs and influence hiring practices, and with learners, to expand the candidate pool to traditionally excluded groups including BIPOC, women and newcomers.
This dual-client model offers a wholistic approach to an issue: engaging both industry and potential candidates when scoping out the problem, creating a program to address it and fostering the conditions for the program’s ability to thrive.
The early indications of outcomes are promising; increase in graduates’ skills, confidence, employment and salaries, as well as hiring reform in the industry. This can be credited in no small part to the strong relationships the Catalyst has built with employers. Their role as liaison between diverse and talented candidates, and cybersecurity employers, helped increase the Catalyst’s influence and bring more diversity to the sector.
Cyber talent demand in Canada continues to increase amidst an acute shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals. Employers are faced with the challenge of attracting, recruiting and retaining this talent to meet the growing needs of the cybersecurity sector.
To make the sector more accessible to Canadians from diverse backgrounds, the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst launched the Accelerated Cybersecurity Training Program (ACTP) in 2020. This program is specifically designed to give women, new Canadians, and workers seeking employment the skills they need to launch a career in the cybersecurity sector.
A dual client model, the program works with both Canadian cybersecurity employers to understand their needs and influence hiring practices, and with learners to expand the candidate pool to traditionally excluded groups. The program focuses on recruiting learners that are Black, Indigenous and/or people of colour (BIPOC), women and newcomers, and supports learners’ development and job search.
In 2022, we released a A Race for Talent: Insights from Canadian Cybersecurity Employers. In this report, we shared the key questions addressed in our research, the high-level findings that speak to these questions and recommendations for programs like the ACTP and for cybersecurity employers to effectively address the growing gap between demand and supply of cybersecurity talent in Canada. Learn more here.
In developing and delivering the ACTP, the Catalyst took a dual-client approach, working with both Canadian cybersecurity employers and learners in their program. With employers, they worked to understand their needs and influence hiring practices, and with learners, to expand the candidate pool to traditionally excluded groups including BIPOC, women and newcomers.
This dual-client model offers a wholistic approach to an issue: engaging both industry and potential candidates when scoping out the problem, creating a program to address it and fostering the conditions for the program’s ability to thrive.
The early indications of outcomes are promising; increase in graduates’ skills, confidence, employment and salaries, as well as hiring reform in the industry. This can be credited in no small part to the strong relationships the Catalyst has built with employers. Their role as liaison between diverse and talented candidates, and cybersecurity employers, helped increase the Catalyst’s influence and bring more diversity to the sector.
The Responsive Career Pathways Research Brief consolidates key findings from our past 9 research papers in partnership with the Future Skills Centre. In this brief, we outline key innovation challenges and opportunities for career guidance services in Canada, and highlight common barriers to accessing these services.
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Career guidance systems could be designed with a whole-of-person lens. This paper considers promising practices in breaking down barriers to career guidance for Canadians.
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Adult learners have to navigate an increasingly diverse, fragmented and complex education and training marketplace. This paper assesses options helping Canadian learners navigate their education and learning choices.
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The path to accessing career guidance is challenging for racialized people, women and newcomers to Canada. This paper offers opportunities to strengthen our publicly-funded employment systems to effectively address labour market inequity.
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The role and use of technologies that help individuals and career practitioners navigate career pathways are rapidly evolving. This paper outlines potential ways responsive career pathways can be enabled by technology.
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Offering forward-looking, customized, high-quality and accessible career guidance to a wide range of Canadians is possible. This paper identifies behavioural and motivational barriers to accessing career guidance and offers a promising path ahead.
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Career development practitioners have a critical role to play in helping Canadians prepare for the future of work. This paper tackles questions about the role of career development practitioners and the evolution of their practice.
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Employers are critical in establishing more responsive career pathways for Canadians. This paper outlines some of the challenges and opportunities employers are facing related to the future of work and skills.
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This paper offers considerations for strengthening and aligning our careers and employment systems to better serve Canadians across their career trajectory.
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This document provides consistent definitions for the terms that are applied across all of the research papers for the Responsive Career Pathways initiative.
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Finding ways to make labour market information accessible and useful for service providers and individuals is key for creating more responsive career pathways.
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