Professional/Short Course Cyber Security

Entry year
2024/25
Course code
Z51000159
Application
University
Level
Professional/Short Course
School
School of Computing and Creative Technologies
Campus
Frenchay
Duration
16 weeks
Delivery
Blended
Course Director
Dr Phil Legg

Page last updated 12 October 2023

Introduction

Skills Bootcamps are flexible courses giving successful applicants the opportunity to build up tech skills and fast-track them to an interview with an employer. They are being developed by the Government as part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, in partnership with employers, providers and local authorities, to help people develop the skills that are in demand in their local area and get a better job.

About this Skills Bootcamp

Technology is transforming society; from how we do business to how we socialise, travel and communicate and we are increasingly dependent on the computer systems that drive these processes. This dependency means that we're vulnerable to cyber-attacks; our personal data can be stolen, and our national institutions, critical infrastructure and the technology that drives our society can be compromised.

The Cyber Security sector is growing, and demand for Cyber Security specialists is growing exponentially across all sectors of the economy including public and private enterprises, both large and small, and critical national infrastructure, such as energy, transport, water and finance.

We need skilled, confident cyber security professionals who understand the technology, and the challenges, so they're able to secure and protect our digital society.

This 16 week programme will train you in the identification and mitigation of security threats and help you to develop the basic technical knowledge and software development skills necessary to ensure that organisations can keep their business and customers safe.

An important element of bootcamp delivery will be practice-based learning. We will embed personal and professional learning and development into our core delivery to ensure that you develop the personal and interpersonal skills required to operate successfully as a cyber security professional.

This Skills Bootcamp covers four major areas:

  • Basic Tools and Professional Skills
  • Computational Thinking & Practice
  • Cyber Security; Applications and Vulnerabilities
  • Preparation for Employment

Who is it for?

The Skills Bootcamps are open to all applicants provided they are aged 19 or over, are recently unemployed, self-employed, looking to move into a new job role, or coming out of furlough and seeking a pathway to a digital career.

Learners will engage with 16 weeks of flexible delivery, blending real-time interaction with interactive online resources. Real-time content delivery will typically be recorded and made available for later review and flexible support will be available outside of formally timetabled sessions. The bootcamp can be attended fully remotely, however there will be additional sessions delivered from Frenchay Campus to compliment the main delivery.

Entry requirements

Learners must:

  • Be aged over 19 years old
  • Have the right to live and work in the UK (UK Citizen or valid visa, currently living in the UK)
  • Agree to provide mandatory personal data and supplementary information on their employment outcomes for up to 8 months following completion of the Skills Bootcamp
  • Be looking for a new role, new opportunities or increased responsibility/promotion to a different role which utilises the skills acquired through their Skills Bootcamp

Be either

  • recently unemployed, within the last 12 months
  • self-employed, looking to develop their skills to increase their career potential
  • employed, but looking to move into a new job role, or seeking a pathway to a new career
  • employed, where you wish to gain increased responsibilities/new role within your current employment place or, your employer wishes you to develop your skills and is committed to paying 30% of the bootcamp costs*

*Employers will be able to send existing employees who meet the Skills Bootcamp eligibility requirements on this training at an impressive 70% discount of the standard fee. Interested employers should contact us directly via Enquire Now form below.

Careers / Further study

On completing the Skills Bootcamp, learners will have the basic skills needed to move into the area of cyber security and the skillset and the confidence to explore the area further. Technical skills in cyber security will enable new career opportunities and provide a platform for the improvement of business operations. Personal and interpersonal skills will enable learners to quickly establish themselves as a valuable, work-ready asset with employers.

Structure

Content

This Skills Bootcamp is structured as follows:

Weeks 1-2: Induction / Basic Tools and Professional Skills

  • Introduction to information systems and digital technology, key technologies for on-line learning, communicating, collaborating and presenting 
  • Understanding requirements, setting objectives, planning and time-management, professional behaviour and professional ethics 
  • Working with others, team dynamics, roles, behaviours and personalities

Weeks 3-6: Computational Thinking & Practice

  • Abstract and algorithmic thinking, formulating problems, organising and analysing data, models and simulations, generalising problems and finding efficient and effective solutions 
  • Designing and implementing software: requirements elicitation, design techniques, programming language constructs and data types, testing 

Weeks 7-12: Cyber Security Specialism

  • Introduction to cyber security: cyber security in the context of systems, information and technology, systems virtualisation, basics of system penetration testing 
  • Web applications and related topics: web fundamentals, web application vulnerabilities, networking fundamentals, common vulnerabilities and exposures, hashing and authentication, public key encryption
  • Advanced application and industrial control system vulnerabilities

Weeks 13-16: Preparation for Employment

  • Practical career advice, psychometric and personality tests, choosing the right role/career pathway
  • CV and cover letter writing, networking, job hunting, attending interviews and interview skills

Features

Placements

Creating pathways to employment

How are employers involved in the delivery of this Skills Bootcamp?

UWE Bristol is an NCSC Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) and we expect to involve a number of our very extensive network of industrial contacts (e.g. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), GCHQ, MOD, Avon and Somerset Police, Hub8, Techmodal, BAE Systems, Synalogik, Montvieux, Leonardo, Toshiba Research, South Gloucestershire Council, West of England Combined Authority) to support this initiative.

Employers will be involved throughout the process, reviewing and confirming the content, providing industry insights, advice on professionalism and employability and preparation for interviews during the final four-week block.

What are the routes to employment following successful completion?

The Cyber Security sector is growing, and demand for Cyber Security specialists will grow exponentially. UWE aims to place learners, through existing partnerships, with the NCSC, the Cyber Central project, and Hub8 Cyber Innovation Centre, and existing partners e.g. MOD, Leonardo and SMEs, across the West of England.

Participants will be supported to attend interviews and provided with follow up signposting to further training and employment opportunities through local UWE Bristol and IoC national resources.

Study facilities

UWE Bristol has invested significantly in online resources to support your blended learning study. We use the  'Blackboard Collaborate' online platform to deliver an integrated learning experience to you and you also have access to a vast number of professional and academic journals and databases online through the UWE Bristol library.

Find out more about the facilities and resources UWE has to offer.

Prices and dates

Supplementary fee information

Course Dates

This Skills Bootcamp currently has no funded cohorts available, please complete our expression of interest form to be kept informed of future opportunities.

CohortStart DateLocation

Please note that you will be required to make a commitment to the following for the duration of 16 weeks:

6 hours per week of timetabled activity

3 hours per week of supported activity

24 hours per week of self-study

TBC

A full timetable will be issued prior to the start of the course.

Online

Course fees

Places are fully funded by the Institute of Coding (I.o.C.) for applicants who meet the entry requirements.

How to apply

How to apply

In order to confirm that you meet the necessary requirements for a place on this course, please note that once your application has been approved you will be required to provide the following supporting information to formally accept you, as required by the university: 

  • A copy of photographic proof of ID (i.e. driver's licence/passport).
  • For non-UK students, this must be a copy of your passport and proof of immigration status (i.e. visa)
  • Agree to a formal Learner Agreement

Once accepted on the course, you will be registered as a UWE Bristol student and issued a UWE Bristol email and password, to enable access to the required online resources.

This Skills Bootcamp currently has no funded cohorts available, please complete our expression of interest form below to be kept informed of future opportunities

Cohort 
TBCExpression of Interest

We are collecting data on Skills Bootcamp applicants, candidates and participants to help the Department of Education (DfE) understand how well the courses are working and if they are achieving their outcomes. For further information about the Privacy Notice or queries about how DfE handles your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer at the Department for Education or write to: Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SWlP 3BT. 

For further information

  • Email: Please contact us using the expression of interest form link above
  • Telephone: +44 (0)117 32 81043 (option 1, then option 3)