An official from Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said on Friday that they are considering to offer a cybersecurity course and it will be in partnership with other countries.

“As we are transitioning to the 5th Industrial Revolution that mostly concerns and involves the internet and computer software, this (would be) beneficial for government, businesses (for) ease of doing business, and also this could help prevent cyber-attacks,” TESDA officer in charge Rosanna Urdaneta told the Philippine News Agency.

However, unlike other information and communications technology (ICT) courses, cybersecurity is multidisciplinary according to Urdaneta. She said that the course will require more than just computer knowledge.

At the moment, TESDA is already in the process of discussing the proposed Competency Standards with its Qualifications and Standards Office, and the ICT Office. A TESDA board member has already been assigned to assist in standards and competency development.

“We had a meeting on the proposed competencies yesterday. We agreed on a lot of things and we are confident that we will be able to present this to the expert panel and eventually to the TESDA Board within a month,” she said.

Once the Qualification Standard is approved by the board, it will take about three to six months to train assessors and trainers for the new course.

As for the foreign partnership, Urdaneta said TESDA is eyeing to partner with Israel in developing the new training program.

“Israel has one of the world’s largest networks of cybersecurity professionals. It also offers an advanced cybersecurity training to its citizens as part of the mandatory military training. So this partnership can be very beneficial to the Philippines.”

TESDA is also open to partnerships with other countries willing to assist in developing the said course.