50 ICT specialists complete training

USAID Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership (DCCP) along with Pacific Project and Google completed a Google security and standards training for more than 50 ICT specialists from across 12 Pacific Island countries on Wednesday last week.

The USAID Pacific Islands Deputy Mission director Michael Glees said the participants were midlevel ICT specialists that included the next generation of network engineers and network security professionals working in government, higher education and the private sector who were responsible for running the cloud infrastructure in the region.

“USAID is supporting the government and telecommunication industry workforce that maintains the cybersecurity infrastructure across the Pacific by providing them opportunities to refine their skills and learn from peers and experts on cutting-edge cyber security measures and cloud technologies, ensuring they are well-equipped to face the evolving security challenges of the modern digital world,” Mr Glees said.

The president of Tonga Women in ICT and project coordinator for the Project Management Unit for the Ministry of Education Seluvaia Kaivaka said the USAID partnership with Google was a great initiative that she fully supported as she was passionate about the development of the next generation of ICT specialists and network engineers.

“As President of Tonga Women in ICT, I also fully appreciate the importance of security and resilience to empower more women and girls in this field,” Ms Kaivaka said.

The event underscored the commitment of USAID’s DCCP – Pacific and Google’s to advance digital security capabilities in the Pacific.