College to offer six-week course on cyber security
West Lothian College is offering a new six-week cyber security course to help people gain the skills they need to start a career in the tech industry.
Anyone taking the Cyber Security National Progression Award will gain a solid foundation in cyber security and learn how to protect individuals and businesses from becoming victims of cyber crime.
Topics covered in the course include data science, data security, digital forensics and ethical hacking.
West Lothian College secured funding through the Digital Start Fund to support this training which is free to those taking part.
The Digital Start Fund was set up by Skills Development Scotland to help people to retrain and gain skills in data analysis, software development and cyber security.
The course at West Lothian College is specifically geared towards people over the age of 25 who have left college or university in the last 12 months.
The college will work with industry bodies ScotlandIS and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre to deliver the course.
ScotlandIS will provide industry speakers and arrange interviews for digital jobs for everyone who successfully completes the course.
The Scottish Business Resilience Centre will provide insight into ethical hacking and other careers with police and Scottish Government.
Visit https://www.digitalworld.net/study/ digital-start-fund.
There is to be no community engagement on the review of the temporary 20mph speed limits in West Lothian.
Posts had circulated online asking people to contact West Lothian’s Council’s roads network manager, Gordon Brown, with their opinions on the speed limits. However, the council have told The Courier this is incorrect and no public consultation has been planned. They said that a wider consultation of the Spaces for People programme is scheduled and stakeholders only, like community councils, have been asked for their input. A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Community councils in West Lothian and other relevant stakeholders have been consulted in the last week to seek their views on the temporary Spaces for People measures that have recently been introduced in West Lothian.”
Murieston and Bankton Community Council are encouraging people to get in touch with their views on the scheme. The Courier revealed the Council Executive agreed to discuss the matter at a future meeting. Local siblings Lorenzo and Antonia Franchitti created a petition with 5000 signatures and presented it to the council in December. A council spokesperson said they would refer the matter to the next meeting of the Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel. The council introduced the temporary speed limit measure as part of the Covid-19 Spaces for People initiative.
West Lothian residents are being encouraged to sign up online for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight.
The council supports the Fairtrade scheme, which aims to make sure that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a fair deal for their produce.
West Lothian is a Fairtrade zone, with groups running in a number of towns and villages, and Linlithgow recently renewing their status as a Fairtrade town. Fairtrade fortnight takes place until March 7, with a theme of climate change and the impact it has on the most vulnerable communities. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, all of this year’s event are online so please visit www. scottishfairtradeforum.org. uk/ for more details or email fairtrade@westlothian.gov. uk. Executive councillor for the environment, Tom Conn, added: “I would encourage West Lothian residents to support Fairtrade and help support producers in the developing world.”