CyberFirst is developing the UK's next generation of cyber professionals with Eploy

Eploy has been chosen to work on a new mentorship scheme for schools to help inspire the next generation of cyber security professionals in the South West of England.

The recruitment technology company will work with a consortium of cyber security organisations in the South West to deliver the new pilot scheme which is part of the CyberFirst Schools programme.

CyberFirst Schools was set up by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, to recognise schools and colleges that are committed to providing a structured approach to excellence in cyber security education and to encourage collaboration on learning opportunities between schools and industry.

The new mentorship scheme is the latest activity to be delivered by the CyberFirst South West consortium, which is tasked with helping to facilitate this engagement.

The consortium consists of Raytheon UK, Cynam, the South West Cyber Security Cluster (CWCSC), Bristol and Bath Cyber and Graphic Science. CyberFirst has selected Eploy as their pilot technology partner to help deliver the mentorship scheme.

Pilot Programme

The mentoring scheme is designed to match cyber security professionals with schools where children are interested to learn about cyber security and what the jobs entail.

Using the tried and tested Eploy platform, students, teachers and industry mentors will experience an improved and simplified journey which will facilitate engagement, onboarding and e-mentoring.

Eploy’s Complete Applicant Tracking System and Talent CRM is configured to reflect the audience requirements with specific access permissions. In addition, the flexibility of Eploy allows for further system configuration as the pilot is rolled out to other areas.

As well as the Eploy core system, the hiring manager portal will populate opportunities live on the CyberFirst Schools careers site, designed with an authorisation process that requires no manual intervention. The process provides collaboration between students, teachers and their mentors with an agile and consistent way of working.

Chris Bogh, CTO at Eploy commented, “Encouraging young people to engage with computer science and the application of cyber security is so important to open up opportunities for careers in this area. We are proud to be able to provide the agile technology to support this programme”.

About the CyberFirst Initiative

The CyberFirst programme is designed to identify and nurture a diverse range of talented young people into a cyber security career. This programme of opportunities, which includes CyberFirst Schools, helps young people explore their passion for tech by introducing them to the fast-paced world of cyber security.

It encourages collaboration between local schools, the NCSC, national and local companies and organisations, which share the aim of encouraging young people to engage with computer science and the application of cyber security in everyday technology.

The CyberFirst South West consortium manages the assessment and evaluation of CyberFirst School applications and the growth of the CyberFirst Schools community in the area.