Transforming the cyber workforce pipeline: Secondary education in action

What does it take to build a future-ready cyber workforce? At Joseph Banks Secondary College, we believe the pipeline begins well before university—by empowering students in their earliest years of secondary school with real-world experiences and authentic industry engagement.

Through our P-TECH Cyber Solutions program, we’ve spent the last seven years designing and refining a model that connects students in Years 7–12 directly with cyber security professionals. Students engage in hands-on learning, industry mentoring, excursions, national competitions, real-world challenges, and complete both micro-credentials and nationally recognised qualifications. These experiences create early awareness of the diverse career pathways in cyber, while also building technical skills, teamwork, critical thinking, and confidence.

What makes this program truly unique is its co-design approach. Our curriculum and experiences are shaped by industry partners who help define content, mentor students, and provide feedback on what the next generation needs. This is workforce development—starting in high school.

In this session, you’ll hear from high school students, teachers and program leaders on how we embed cyber education across a full secondary school pathway, work with industry mentors to bring curriculum to life, create and take part in challenges and projects that simulate real-world cyber work and prepare students to graduate high school with qualifications, connections, and a clear pathway direction.

We’ve asked: “What should we do next?”

The response was unanimous: Start earlier. Scale it. Support other schools.

So, in 2025 we launched a series of programs within the Western Australian Space Science Education Centre (WASSEC) to expand the impact beyond our own school. WASSEC now acts as a central hub for cyber education outreach across WA, bringing together students and teachers from across the state. Together, we’re transforming not just the pipeline—but the entire ecosystem.

This session is ideal for those who are looking for practical and scalable ways to support the development of the next generation of cyber professionals. We’ll share strategies, reflections, and next steps, and invite attendees to join the conversation about where cyber workforce development in schools should go next.

This session is designed to be both inspirational and practical – designed to spark ideas and empower attendees to take action in their own contexts, whether they are educators, industry professionals, or policy leaders.

This is not about one school. It’s about what's possible when secondary education becomes a key player in answering Australia's cyber skills shortage.