Vocational Schools for Cyber Security to be Opened

A Protocol on the Opening of Vocational Schools for Cyber Security was signed between the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of Türkiye and the Council of Higher Education

CoHE President Özvar: "The creation of employment-oriented policies and the training of people who were equipped with the qualifications needed by the sectors and had high knowledge, skills and application competence are among our most important priorities."

October 5, 2022 / Ankara


A protocol was signed between the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of Türkiye and the Council of Higher Education to establish vocational schools for cyber security in order to provide a competent and qualified workforce in cyber security.

Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, and Dr. Ali Taha Koç, President of the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of Türkiye, signed the protocol at the ceremony held at the Council of Higher Education.

In his speech, CoHE President Erol Özvar stated that information and information technologies had an important effect on the transition to information society, and that they dominated business processes in private and public spaces. He drew attention to the fact that all information became processable after they were stored through some databases and servers.

He pointed out that the security and protection of information resources were more important than ever in today's world and said, “New cyber threats are constantly emerging in the digital global world. Digital services ranging from personal data to infrastructures have become targets of malware, malicious hackers or organizations.”

He underlined that the security of the social, political, economic and cultural structures of countries in the light of these developments had taken on a virtual structure in the 21st century.

“In other words, the size and form of the understanding of security have turned into virtual walls and castles that need to be protected. The security of communication networks is extremely important not only for privacy, but also for the flow of life, the continuity of economic life and the functioning of political systems. Therefore, it has become necessary to take effective measures among human, process and technology against various cyber attacks that the personal and institutional information owned by countries may be exposed to. Network security, forensics in networks, web security, critical infrastructure security and security of internet of things are operational competencies that ensure the security of countries against threats and risks in the world today.”

Özvar stated that the creation of employment-oriented policies and the training of people who were equipped with the qualifications needed by the sectors and had high knowledge, skills and application competence were among their most important priorities and said, “In line with the development goals of our country, we attach great importance to training the workforce with the qualifications demanded by the sector by opening vocational schools specialized in a certain field.” He noted that as an important part of this work, they signed a protocol with the Digital Transformation Office on the opening of cyber security vocational schools and programs.

“With the protocol we signed today, we aim to build a competent and qualified workforce in the field of cyber security, to develop cyber security education programs, to increase the skills and competencies of trainers in the field, to enrich the existing cyber security training contents in higher education, to expand cyber security training programs and to increase employment in the field of cyber security,” he said.

Ali Taha Koç stated that cyber attacks were used as an element of hybrid warfare methods and said, “The fact that cyber attacks have now turned into a war has made it mandatory for countries to protect their digital infrastructures, just like their borders. This situation has led countries to reevaluate their policies and strategies with a holistic perspective. It is possible to be protected from the devastating effects of cyber threats by being a deterrent cyber power.”


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