The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) announced that it will provide cyber-security training to Saudi female graduates in partnership with RSA and the support of the Early Career Accelerator Program, which the university established to engage more women in IT and in the national digital transformation and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to obtain jobs in the local market.
Speaking about the program, Samer Samman, Chief Human Resources Officer at KAUST, explained, "Opportunities in cybersecurity in the Middle East were limited in the past for women."
“It is time to change that. The initiative was launched by the National Cybersecurity Authority during the Global Cybersecurity Forum at the beginning of this year, in order to support the women working in this field through a series of initiatives, emphasizing the Kingdom's commitment to increasing women's participation in the labor market within the framework of (Vision 2030).”
Four female graduates from the University of Prince Mugrin in Madinah who had finished their holistic risk management training took part in the inaugural program.
KAUST and RSA will continue to provide graduates with consultation guidance and support for a year and a half after they complete the program, as they apply the skills they garnered during their training in the workplace.
Those in charge of the KAUST program expect to accelerate career development and become a continuous initiative held every year, with between two and four female graduates participating in each, to give participants the opportunity to work in different areas of digital risk management.
“We believe it is imperative that cybersecurity companies such as RSA support initiatives that bridge the cyber skills gap, presenting the broader technology sector with a model to replicate,” says Gennaro Scalo, director of the Group's Risk Committee at RSA in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“It is a source of pride that my RSA team has equal representation of both genders, and I am glad to see these young Saudi women pave the way for this becoming the rule, not an exception.”
