Neil Cesario, chief information security office for Sterling Information Technologies, discusses opportunities at the company with a UWindsor computer science student.
The University of Windsor has partnered with cybersecurity experts to look into creating paid internships to help students successfully pursue careers in cybersecurity.
A year and a half ago the School of Computer Science joined industry partner Sterling Information Technologies and began offering cybersecurity workshops to computer science graduate and undergraduate students with the goal of enhancing their job skills.
Building on the momentum of the workshops, the next stage is to design a cybersecurity certification program, Training-to-Hiring pathway, that would blend cybersecurity training with a paid internship.
"The program, in collaboration with Sterling Information Technologies, strategically addresses the cybersecurity talent gap by providing targeted, job-ready training," says Neil Cesario of Sterling Information Technologies.
"This program not only equips students with essential cybersecurity skills but also directly connects them with employers, creating a seamless pathway from education to employment."
Specifically, they are training students to work at a Security Operations Centre (SOC). Cesario says SOCs are rooms full of computers designed to prevent cyberattacks.
Ziad Kobti is the director of the School of Computer Science.
"We have an impressive set of AI computational servers and GPU terminals at the downtown campus with the strong computational capability to analyze large amounts of data, and we have the faculty, the resources and the skilled students needed to create the SOC," says Dr. Kobti.
"These students will get a unique opportunity to learn from experts for 16 weeks, then up to eight months in a paid internship,"
Through hands-on experience in an SOC environment, and utilizing EC-Council's comprehensive training modules, Cesario says students will acquire the practical skills necessary for immediate contribution in cybersecurity roles.
"This process ensures that they're prepared to meet industry demands right upon completion," he says. "By building a robust pipeline of skilled professionals, we're not just supporting the local workforce but also addressing a critical business need access to cybersecurity talent that can safeguard against evolving threats."
Cesario says they are looking for industry collaborators to hire the students for the Training-to-Hiring program.
"The program extends its benefits beyond individual trainees by fortifying local small and medium-sized enterprises, which often lack resources for robust cybersecurity.
"By leveraging the SOC as a centralized hub for threat intelligence and defense, we enable businesses to access enterprise-grade cybersecurity support," says Cesario. "This collaborative model enhances their resilience, ensuring they remain competitive and secure in a landscape where cyber threats are increasingly complex and costly."
The goal is to design the Training-to-Hiring initiative as a replicable model for Ontario colleges and universities.
"By establishing interconnected SOCs across institutions, we can foster a collaborative cybersecurity network," says Cesario. "This unified approach not only strengthens individual businesses but also contributes to a province-wide framework for proactive threat management. It's a forward-thinking model that positions Ontario as a leader in cybersecurity readiness and resilience."
