How Will The Welsh Government Back Cyber Innovation?
After The Welsh Government announced a £3 million investment in a new Cyber Innovation Hub, which will train over 1,000 specialists and grow the national cyber security sector by 50% by 2030, Housing Industry Leaders highlights the key aspects of the plan.
Announced on the 11th May, the new plans will provide funding over the next two years and be matched by £3.5 million from a consortium of partners and a further £3 million from the Cardiff Captial Region City Deal.
Determined to make Wales a smart nation, the hub will bring together public sector and private sector bodies to work collaboratively and improve cyber innovation for the country.
Public, Private and Academic Sectors Come Together
Academic partners are also on board to train over 1000 specialists in the field. Additionally, younger people will be targeted in schools and colleges to boost the future workforce in the technology sector and retain the population to stay in Wales.
These hubs go a long way in providing the groundwork and blueprints for Wales to push on with their Smart community objectives. If successful, the national cyber security sector will grow by 50 per cent by 2030.
Cardiff University is to lead the project with partners including Airbus, Alacricity Cyber, CGI, Thales NDEC, Tramshed Tech and the University of South Wales.
Scalability at The Heart of The Project
With scalability at the heart of the project, the Welsh Government hopes that private equity investments of more than £20 million will further enhance the sector in Wales once the benchmark is set.
Speaking shortly after the announcement, First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The Welsh Government is proud to co-fund Cyber Innovation Hub’s mission to transform Cardiff Capital Region into one of the UK’s leading cyber clusters by 2030.
The pandemic has highlighted just how important cyber innovation is in supporting and protecting information sharing whilst offering data and insight to help keep the region moving and growing
Adding to this, Chris Ensor, deputy director for cyber growth at the National Cyber Security Centre, commented: “The Cyber Innovation Hub is a welcome addition to South Wales’ already impressive cyber security ecosystem, bringing benefits not only to the local area but the UK as a whole.”
As the NCSC is supporting the CIH on its journey of driving the transformation and growth of cyber innovation, the rest of the UK will be watching with high anticipation for the development of cyber innovation in Wales.
