Raytheon is extending its global Cyber Academy programme to the UK in partnership with the University of Gloucestershire and Lancaster University.

Through these cybersecurity skills-building workshops, Raytheon is focusing on the growing worldwide cyber talent gap. The educational programme gives students hands-on experience with cybersecurity techniques and methods to identify and address network vulnerabilities.

 “Combatting the cyber threat involves collaboration, technology and talent,” said James Gray, managing director, Cyber and Intelligence, Raytheon UK. “We are partnering with academia and government to help develop our nation’s next generation of cyber defenders.”

The cybersecurity skills gap in the UK is well documented. According to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee in 2016, 12.6 million people lack basic digital skills and 30% of the required computer science teachers have not been recruited. This digital skills gap is costing the UK economy an estimated £63 billion a year in lost additional GDP.

Raytheon’s Cyber Academy, first launched in the United Arab Emirates in 2016, will be offered around the world in markets strategically important to Raytheon’s business.