by KIMBERLEY HAAS
PORTSMOUTH – Employer demand is driving Great Bay Community
College’s plan to add an associate degree in cyber security this fall.
And officials at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester are
working on an agreement so graduates of the GBCC program can transfer
into the homeland security program there.
Officials at HII Technical Solutions in Portsmouth were happy to hear
the news last week. The company currently has two job openings that
support software programming and cyber-related activities, according to
corporate director for public affairs Beci Brenton.
HII Technical Solutions provides systems integration and cyber security
support for the Navy. Brenton says connections to local colleges and
universities could be beneficial as they develop their workforce, not
just in New Hampshire but across the country.
“We have found that cyber experts can support many projects and
customers remotely from anywhere in the United States,” Brenton said.
“We have been very successful in our relationship with Christopher
Newport University here in Newport News, Va., which has allowed us to
build out software engineering talent.”
In technology-rich areas such as Boston, about half of the entry-level
cyber security jobs go unfilled because of a lack of qualified
candidates, according to a news release from GBCC.
Students who earn an associate degree in the new program will be
qualified for jobs with starting salaries of between $40,000 and $50,000
a year, the school said.
Salaries of experienced cyber security professionals and those with
advanced training are three times the national average, with hourly
wages at almost $56 per hour, officials at GBCC say, citing the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“These are not jobs, these are careers,” Great Bay information systems
technology professor Kevin Behnke said in a statement. “The American
economy is about knowledge, and cyber security is the forefront of the
American economy.”
The program at GBCC will train students to work in national security and
the medical, financial, retail and manufacturing fields.
Jay Smith, the president of sales at Security7 Networks in Hampton, said
the company already hired two employees who took courses at GBCC. His
company serves hundreds of clients all over the world.
Smith said there are cyber security breaches all the time, and his
company caters to businesses that can’t hire a full-time specialist but
still need network and security services. Smith said he is happy to
partner with Behnke, who gives students the skill sets they need to get
started in the business.
Erika Mantz, a spokesperson for the University of New Hampshire, said
there are about 25 students on the Manchester campus working toward a
bachelor’s degree in homeland security. There is no similar degree
program at UNH in Durham. Graduates from GBCC’s associate degree program
will be able to transfer their credits to UNH Manchester.
For more information, call 427-7610 or e-mail [email protected].
Union Leader Article: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20170319/NEWS04/170319345
