As more companies explore the advantages of remote work, there is a vital need within the business community for sophisticated IT protection against data thefts and other cyber attacks.
Algonquin College Corporate Training (ACCT) and key industry partners are expanding their efforts to meet that need with a greater range of IT security training courses offered in flexible formats on the emerging threats and trends across sectors.
“Every business is affected and aware of the urgent need to secure their data,” said Sue Schell, senior learning consultant at ACCT. “The pandemic has heightened that awareness simply due to people working from home, data sharing, and connecting over VPNs. It has been a positive learning curve for many organizations, but changes are always happening, and cybersecurity experts need to remain on top of what’s going on.”
To that end, ACCT offers a growing diversity of IT courses with a best-of-both-worlds approach. According to Schell, ACCT provides public courses and customized client-specific dedicated private classes. For unique requirements ACCT works with industry partners to find a solution to fit their specific needs.
ACCT partners include NTerOne, Web Age, and the college’s newest collaborator on IT security training, Mile2 Canada.
“Mile2 has an excellent reputation for delivering cybersecurity courses with seasoned professionals who are accredited at teaching their topics,” said Schell. “They are very proactive and responsive with their students and want to ensure they have the best learning experience and knowledge take-away.”
“Our classroom content and certifications are based on the real-world needs of government, public, and private sector entities,” said Rick Shore, president of Mile2 Canada. “Companies are increasingly concerned about cyber attacks, and they understand the value of knowing their enemy.”
Learning to spot the hackers
Having the latest comprehensive knowledge to know the enemy well is critical.
While the financial consequence of a cyber attack on a company can easily run into millions of dollars, Shore points out how the cost of cybersecurity training is not nearly as expensive as commonly perceived.
To ensure companies have the skills they need to stop these pricey cyber threats, the Certified Professional Ethical Hacker course offered through ACCT brings participants up to date on network security, access controls, cryptography, vulnerability assessments, malware, protection of passwords, and more.
“If victimized organizations had put 10 per cent of what they paid in ransom towards improved cybersecurity, they would significantly lower the risk and have an effective defence in place to minimize the impact of attacks,” Shore noted. “Unfortunately, there is a big skilled labour gap in this area, but we are dedicated to closing it.”
Because IT courses through ACCT are designed for employees, Schell stresses how the training delivery can accommodate just about any learning style. Currently, delivery formats include virtual classroom instructor-led courses, publicly-scheduled courses, self-paced eLearning, and dedicated sessions, all developed and delivered by an industry partner.
In addition to cybersecurity, ACCT IT training solutions include Microsoft Official Curriculum, Cisco, VMWare, networking, programming, app development, cloud, machine learning, big data, and many more.
For a complete list of IT training courses or to find out how ACCT can help you build a personalized program, visit www.algonquincollege.com/corporate/courses/it/.
