New career comeback programme launched for Malaysian women in cyber security

A new programme has been launched in Malaysia to support women in cyber security in returning to work, as shared on Ministry of Communications and Multimedia via Bernama.

Known as 'Empowering Women in Cyber Risk Management', the programme is a career comeback initiative that aims to overcome the talent gap faced by the cyber security industry.

It is offered by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in collaboration with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, Human Resources Ministry, and Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

Speaking at the launch of the programme on Thursday (20 June), Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh iterated the importance of having more women in the workforce.

She said: "According to the Minister of Human Resources during the annual ‘Life at Work 2018’ award, women make up half of Malaysia’s population and almost half of the national workforce.

"If more women join the workforce, the Gross Domestic Product has the potential to increase from RM6 billion to RM9 billion."

ALSO READ: More than 25% of employers take up to 6 months to fill a cybersecurity role

Further, she stressed the importance of encouraging women to participate in the workforce, citing a previous report by TalentCorp and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants  that found while 93% women who have stopped work intended to come back, nearly two in three (63%) face difficulty in doing so.

She then shared more about the different types of support available for the programme's participants, which include benefits such as a mentor guide, monthly allowance, training, and more.

Criteria to apply for the programme

As shared in a Facebook post, Minister Yeoh highlighted three criteria for application to the programme - the candidate has to be Malaysian, has taken a break from work for a minimum of six months, and has had a minimum of three years' working experience.

Photo / 123RF