{"id":41496,"date":"2023-10-20T15:14:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/students-get-a-chance-to-test-drive-cyber-careers-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:14:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:22","slug":"students-get-a-chance-to-test-drive-cyber-careers-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/students-get-a-chance-to-test-drive-cyber-careers-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Students get a chance to \u2018test-drive\u2019 cyber careers – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A program hoping to grow the number of young people aspiring to a career in STEM has launched in Australia with the aim of connecting high school and uni students with corporate mentors.<\/p>\n

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Day of STEM, a joint venture between Deloitte and US-based LifeJourney, is an online platform that allows students to \u201ctest-drive\u201d different careers, completing virtual tasks similar to the real-life work of industry professionals.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey can see what it\u2019s like to be a cyber-fraud analyst at Westpac, or an architect at Cisco,\u201d LifeJourney founder and CEO Rick Geritz says.<\/p>\n

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Other leading corporations to join the initiative include Telstra and Twitter.<\/p>\n

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Despite its name, DAY of STEM is actually a year-long program, and Geritz says it has the power to transform the way young people see their future.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen we ask students \u2018what do you want to be when you grow up?\u2019 there\u2019s still a common dialogue \u2013 doctor, lawyer, footy player,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut when you ask them what a cyber-job is, there\u2019s a lack of awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Geritz thinks parents must be made aware of these jobs too because they are the people with the biggest capacity to influence the next generation.<\/p>\n

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He says raising the profile of these career paths will increase the number of STEM graduates coming out of Australian and US universities and begin to address the world\u2019s shortage of 400,000 cyber professionals.<\/p>\n

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According to Deloitte\u2019s Australia\u2019s Digital Pulse<\/i> report, only 18% of the Australian workforce has STEM qualifications. The situation is much the same in Geritz\u2019s native US.<\/p>\n

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He says Australia and the US could look to countries like Singapore, who are ranked as the world\u2019s leader in STEM education, for guidance, with the Asian powerhouse systematically rewarding and supporting teachers, which in turn impacts the quality of STEM education.<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s hoping teachers in Australia can connect their curriculum to students\u2019 Day of STEM \u201cjourneys\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you can equip an entire generation with the skills they need to think and create at an early stage, it\u2019ll also spawn a generation of entrepreneurs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Do you know more on this story or have a tip of your own? Raising capital or launching a startup? Let us know. Follow StartupSmart on<\/i> Facebook<\/i>,<\/i> Twitter<\/i>, and<\/i> LinkedIn<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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