Dear Editor,
The United Kingdom Chevening scholarship programme is an excellent investment in the human capital of Guyana. Many thought leaders indicate that workforce skills development is an excellent investment that not only benefits the individual and government but the society and economy. My world view is that the Guyanese youth are like rare jewels who need to be cut and crafted into fine pieces. The various countries that invest in our youth identify the workforce skills gap and commit their efforts to assist our country. Over the years China, Cuba, the United Kingdom, United States, and others have trained many Guyanese youths in multiple disciplines.
Recently, eleven students were awarded the prestigious Chevening scholarship and the cost to train them is about 93 million Guyana dollars. This is a commitment to the new students by a foreign country. In observing the programmes offered, they are specific to national development – areas of social, economic, and security. The Cyber Security Engineering scholarship represents an important observation and consideration of the national challenges in Guyana. As I have written before, “Cybersecurity is a driver for economic growth, and we must take full advantage of it.” The UK has identified the importance of cybersecurity and has developed superior cyber strategies.
These strategies are supported by extensive research and development as induced by the strategy [Cabinet Office. (2011). The UK Cyber Security Strategy Protecting and promoting the UK in a digital world (Ref: 407494/1111). Retrieved from www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk]. According to the Cabinet Office (2011), the top priority was for “The UK to have the cross-cutting knowledge, skills and capability it needs to underpin all our cybersecurity objectives” (p. 8). The ability to provide training in this domain also demonstrates their development in academia over the years. Guyana does not have a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy which includes workforce skills development, nor does the Caribbean region under CARICOM. The CARICOM Cyber Security and Cybercrime Action Plan identify the University of the West Indies and the Organization of American States as potential partners with interest for developing capabilities in cybersecurity. However, neither offers the type of skills development needed to protect the social and economic interest of our country.
As the Organization of American States and Symantec indicate, there are great cybersecurity challenges in our region. Guyana has experienced several malicious cyber events. To confront this challenge, the root is understanding the existing cybersecurity skills gap. One, two, or three professionals cannot confront numerous malicious threat actors, develop policy, engineer systems, analyze threats, and deliver programme integrity across operations. However, the one, two, or three can help develop new professionals and work together to support superior research and development as we advance our emerging economy. To this end, the opportunity to pursue Cyber Security Engineering in the UK is a great opportunity for the professional. Cybersecurity training is costly. Training by SANS focuses on many areas but can the young Guyanese professional afford it?
While I do not have the answer, I propose the following research: Cybersecurity skills as a driver for economic development in Guyana. The research will explore the existing cybersecurity skills gap and investigate our educational institutions’ ability to develop programmes and deliver comparable training to enhance our workforce. This will be benchmarked against international cybersecurity skills development frameworks and correlated with the required roles and responsibilities across functional departments in the public sector. As I pursue this, statistical factors can be included in mixed-method research. This provides the opportunity for current professionals to collaborate and provide the superior research and development needed in cybersecurity for Guyana. While I observe that development plans are usually top-down in Guyana, information security and privacy is not a phenomenon. New knowledge must be developed. Any new knowledge is good knowledge because it does not exist.
Yours faithfully,
Dustin Fraser
