L-R: Yek Tiew Ming (ITE), Alice Seow (ITE), Suresh Natarajan (ITE), Low Khah Gek (ITE), Eva Chen (Trend Micro), Dhanya Thakkar (Trend Micro), Nilesh Jain (Trend Micro), David Ng (Trend Micro)
Trend Micro has committed to training up to 3,000 students in Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in information technology and cyber security skills.
As part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Trend Micro will collaborate with ITE over the next three years to develop a curriculum focused on cyber security specialisation in the field of operational technology (OT) and its relationship with IT.
This will include topics like endpoint, network, cloud and OT, and will apply to both pre-employment training (PET) as well as continuing education and training (CET) programs offered by ITE.
Trend Micro will also provide its industry professional certifications for both staff and students as part of capability development.
Trend Micro shared that students who undergo the training can expect to experience hands-on, practical learning to enhance their problem-solving skills in the field of OT-IT cyber security. This will be done through prototypes co-developed by Trend Micro and ITE.
“With the increased connectivity between IT and OT systems, the demand for competencies in both domains has and will continue to increase,” said Dhanya Thakkar, senior VP of Global Marketing and AMEA at Trend Micro.
“Effectively, being able to combat cyber threats across IT and OT environments is crucial to ensuring minimal disruptions to the lives of Singaporeans. Critical infrastructures, ranging from power and utilities all the way to water treatment, are where we are seeing IT and OT environments increasingly converge — and they are not immune to cyber threats.
“It is important that industry players like us support the expansion of cybersecurity capabilities in this area. We are thrilled to be partnering with ITE, committed to advancing the technical skills of Singaporeans.
“This is our first collaboration with industry certification for students in Singapore and we look forward to helping address this gap and empower local talent to tackle complex cyber threats, now and in the future.”
This partnership comes against the backdrop of the government’s renewed focus on enhancing the information and Communications (I&C) sector to fuel the expansion of Singapore’s status as a digital hub.
Low Khah Gek, ITE’s chief executive officer hopes the collaboration will help students become more “workforce-ready” for the digital economy.
“Cyber security is one of the key drivers of Singapore’s digital economy and Smart Nation vision,” said Low. “There is a strong demand for cyber security capabilities, especially in the field of OT and this partnership with Trend Micro plays an instrumental role in our efforts to help our students be industry-ready.
“Through hands-on practical training and emulating real-world scenarios, students will be better equipped to thrive in a career in cyber security.”
