The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
JVS adding 2-year cybersecurity, networking program
The Lorain County JVS is making a shift to one of its programs by offering a Cybersecurity and Networking program.
The new two-year program, starting in fall 2020, is designed to give students more job opportunities.
“We used to be pretty much a general IT program,” said Tim Reeves, Cybersecurity and Networking instructor at JVS. “So, we would do end-user support and networking fundamentals.
“Now, we are still doing that to some extent, but more with the view of cybersecurity.”
Reeves said the change in focus is due to a shift in the industry.
“There has been a shift in the industry as far as opportunity,” he said. “Obviously, security is the No. 1 focus in IT at this point.
“There’s also a big shift for a lot of the traditional equipment to be pushed off site. No longer are they going to go to a physical site to configure it. It’s either in a data center remotely, or it’s in a cloud-based network in a data center somewhere. It’s moving a lot more toward software because of that.”
Reeves said the classes will not be completely new.
“We’re still going to do the end-user support stuff,” he said. “We’re still going to be doing the support for PCs, tablets and laptops just because a lot of entry-level jobs are going to still call for that.
“We are still covering things like call center procedures, help desk procedures ... but where it’s really going to change is a focus on securing those devices. Before, we did not really get too heavy into that, and also the network itself. It will focus on now that you have everything set up, how do you secure it?”
Other components
Reeves said the program will have additional components.
“It will be additional steps, additional technologies even,” he said. “We’re going to be getting into some of the subscriptionbased artificial intelligence systems that like Cisco has.
“You have all of these technologies now where you have the physical appliance and that appliance is in constant communication with their cloud and that’s receiving real-time threat updates. They call it Cisco DNA because it looks at the signatures of the stuff coming in.”
Reeves said by the time the students are done with the program, they should be able to identify a cyber threat and take a series of steps in response.
“They should be able to go into an entry-level cyberops position where they are monitoring customer networks,” he said. “If they see an anomaly, (they should) take a series of steps to see if it’s legit or not.
“They get a better handle on how things should be secured. And a lot of companies, especially around here, that are smaller companies don’t have all those things in place. The students should be able to handle those situations.”
Reeves said students who go through the program will have job opportunities.
“When you check the job outlook handbook, it’s like over 30 percent growth,” he said. “Now granted, a lot of those are not entrylevel positions, but I’ve had past students who have only been out there for three to four years that are already in those mid- to upper-level positions.
The students
Joseph Cascone, 16, a junior at North Ridgeville High School and the JVS, said he went to JVS after being impressed during a tour as a sophomore.
“They went through a demonstration of networking and hardware, and I just found it to be very interesting,” Joseph said. “Cybersecurity is actually a very big interest of mine. That’s actually one of the jobs I’d like to go into.”
He then talked about what separates the JVS.
“It’s a pretty solid school overall,” Joseph said. “I recommend it to anyone who doesn’t necessarily see college as the right fit for them.”
Luke Oliver, 17, a senior at Firelands High School and JVS, also chose the JVS over college.
“About two years ago, it was in my sophomore year, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Luke said. “I just knew, at that point, that I didn’t really want to go to college, so I decided to come here to JVS.
“With computers, my family always told me I was good with them and they thought it would be a good opportunity for me. I’ve taken advantage of it here, I’m going after several certifications.
“I hope to get another certification called the A Plus in Security Plus. Last summer, I worked as an intern at the JVS on their IT team. Also, I work at the (Lorain County) Metro Parks as their IT person.”
Luke also likes the fact that more emphasis will be put on cybersecurity.
“... It’s good because it’s actually fulfilling a job. It was originally network and communications tech which was more networking situated. Now, it’s going into networking and how to defend those networks.”