Raytheon Professional Services, in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership, has successfully recruited and developed a diverse cohort of cyber security specialists in Greater Manchester as part of the RPS Cyber Academy. Delivered virtually from Salford, the Cyber Academy reskilling programme was one of the first of its kind in the UK and is currently supporting more than 90 Greater Manchester and Lancashire residents with accessible routes into better quality digital employment.
Graduates of the RPS Cyber Academy have been recruited from a range of sectors including hospitality and tourism and, after a blended delivery programme that equated to 40 days of learning through our digital boot camp, are being developed for entry into junior cyber security roles within employers that include Salford City Council and Morson Projects. The Cyber Academy reached its conclusion in March 2021.
RPS held a virtual event to celebrate the achievements of the graduates and showcase their employability and talent to the Greater Manchester Tech sector on March 18. Keynote speakers included Paul Dennett, mayor of Salford; Steve Thompson, director of Business Development for Raytheon Professional Services; Jon Corner, Salford chief digital officer; Raj Badiani, head of Digital for Raytheon UK; and a special message for the graduates from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
“Raytheon Technologies has always been a benchmark for excellence, and they brought all their expertise to this academy for the benefit of Greater Manchester and Lancashire residents and employers,” Jon Corner said. “Raytheon Technologies clearly identified the challenges posed by the significantly increasing skills gap and met this challenge by developing a programme of learning that could recruit and develop cyber skills for residents in all walks of life and backgrounds.
“It has provided them with university-level skills to prepare the delegates for the exciting tech challenges that Greater Manchester and the UK faces as it rises from the pandemic.” The RPS Cyber Academy has recruited and developed a diverse cohort of ready-to-work IT employees. The programme covered basic to intermediate information technology and networking, plus entry-level cyber security. This ensures delegates have a diverse knowledge and skill set to enter multiple areas of the digital sector.
