Cyber Security Education

In the future, young IT talents from all over Switzerland will be able to complete pre-service cyber training. A consortium led by Consulteer as general contractor, TIE International as education provider and Cybercon as cyber experts have been awarded the contract in armasuisse’s WTO tender.

The consortium will offer pre-service cyber training in all major regions of Switzerland over the next four years. The project “Pre-service Cyber Training”, SPARC for short, serves to select and prepare future participants in the Swiss Armed Forces’ cyber course. This is a voluntary training program in the run-up to military conscription or military training school, which is primarily aimed at 16- to 19-year-old Swiss nationals.

The focus is on talent recognition and talent acquisition, as well as on teaching important basics in preparation for in-depth training as cyber specialists. The goal is to get young people excited about the topic of cyber security, to offer them exciting experiences and challenges; to enable networking among themselves (community building), and to sustainably expand their knowledge and skills.

State-of-the-art technologies in the field of cyber simulation are used for the training. The learning content will be based on the modular system of ICT vocational training Switzerland, which defines the educational content of basic vocational training and higher vocational training in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Mission Cyber Security

Every year, around 400 people are expected to enter the training. Through a steep learning curve as well as two challenging exams, the best will be selected at the end for the Swiss Armed Forces cyber course. Marketing measures and training events are planned in all parts of Switzerland to attract suitable people for the pre-service training. The privacy of the individual course participants is taken very seriously.

The consortium is an efficient and competent team from various disciplines. It represents the Swiss training landscape, event management as well as technical expertise. Based on this cooperation, the consortium is able to offer a training course by and for the future specialists.

The pre-service cyber education is under the patronage of the national association ICT-Berufsbildung Schweiz. This association has several years of experience in working with the Swiss Army and its cyber training course. The parties involved are among the top cyber security organizations, with TIE International standing out for its direct access to the target group. “The Swiss Armed Forces and Switzerland as a business location need first-class cyber security specialists to secure the leading position of Switzerland as a business location. With our patronage, we are making an important contribution to this,” says Serge Frech, Managing Director of ICT-Berufsbildung Schweiz.

“Consulteer is a long-standing partner of the Swiss Army for IT services and cyber security. As the general contractor for pre-service cyber training, we guarantee that the Swiss Armed Forces can specifically identify and promote talent in the field of cyber security and thus ensure the IT security of our country in the long term,” says Edi Truttmann, Business Unit Manager at Consulteer.

In the pre-service cyber training, the future cyber security specialists will learn to safely navigate the cyber sphere and protect themselves as well as others. They will make a significant contribution to protecting the economy as well as our country from the increasing threats in the cyber space.