The future grew a little wider for students at two Aiken County middle schools recently.
Jackson and New Ellenton middle schools held their first Cyber Technology Day, where students learned about new possibilities for the future in the field of cybersecurity.
The day was part of a new monthly program promoting career development at the two schools. Each month has a different theme, and next month's will be health science and law, public safety, and security.
Career specialist LaFayette Stewart Jr. grew up in Aiken Public Schools, and said he wants to continue to bring programs to students that show them the opportunities they will have when they graduate.
"We're trying to make sure our kids are career and college ready," Stewart said.
Stewart said there are four workforce demands the county is promoting: cyber and technology, industrial manufacturing, health science, and energy. Those will be future themes.
Stewart brought in three professionals to talk to students about their careers and the different areas of cybersecurity.
Tom Scott, executive director of SC Cyber, invited students to get started in cybersecurity early with CyberPatriot, a national program that works to interest students in cybersecurity-related fields. Students in the program will have the opportunity to participate in the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, which puts students in the role of IT professionals defending a network.
"It's such a burgeoning field and exploding that a lot people are just not in tune that it exists," said Tom Scott, executive director of SC Cyber. "If you look at computer science it's really only in the last 50 or 60 years that we've been doing computer science and computer security. We are not a mature profession – we are still building and still growing and still learning."
Read the full article in The Augusta Chronicle HERE