Vanguard Magazine

24 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com TECHNOLOGY ing digital institutional effect across the whole of the organization, the Defence Team leadership has navigated the digital transition without critical failures on op- erations to date because of who our people are and what they bring to the fight." Moving forward, The CAF is approach- ing an opportunity to close the gap in Defence digitisation and transform the CAF into a digitalised force. If it can re- main aligned to the ambitions of Strong, Secure, Engaged, inclusive of a multi-year Defence capital investment programme enabled by modernized policies and pro- cesses that appreciate the emergent char- acteristics of technological change, it just might be able to "ride the wave" of tal- ent our people possess to something much greater. Success of the CAF in this next evolution of their digital transformation is reliant on its ability to lead future in- vestments with an institutional base from which to experiment, educate, and adapt to the ever-changing information environ- ment. Although many CAF processes and structures can remain extant, some will need to change or be modified to realise the potential of digitisation, to include institutionalising the training necessary to create digital Warfighters. This trans- formation is necessary to evolve the entire Defence Team structure to blend military, public servants, allies, and industry as the ordinary vice extraordinary model. An Alternative Approach to Digital Training From Soldier to Software Developer in 100 hours. Meet WithYouWithMe, the veteran-founded talent organisation that's upskilling 50 veterans a week in tech skills for the new digital battlefield. Founded because one of the co-founders and CEO, Tom Moore couldn't even secure a physi- cal security role after serving his country as an infantryman. WithYouWithMe is on a mission to change the way organisations hire IT specialists, focusing on a veteran's potential, not their past job experience. There is a well-recognised global tech skills shortage in data analysis, coding, cybersecurity, and digital project manage- ment. Yet, there hasn't been an effective solution, model, or platform that has been able to solve this problem. Traditional re- cruitment and hiring methods are strug- gling to keep up with the demand for tech talent. Colleges and universities aren't producing talent fast enough or cost-effec- tively, and the skills they are teaching are outdated by the time students graduate. Past performance is often seen as the best predictor of future performance. However, if you are never given a chance to perform, you are never able to show your potential to an employer. This is the problem veter- ans have been facing when they leave the military. To address this, WithYouWithMe has created a superior approach to train- ing and supplying digital talent globally by matching the aptitudes and personal- ity traits of individuals to IT career fields modelled by the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) Foundation and providing a just-in-time training approach to close the gap. The initial focus has been to upskill security-cleared veterans with the tech training needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow, ready to deploy with bespoke skills to the specific client's needs. This ability to deliver security-cleared talent quickly, with the on-demand IT skills training needed on a job-by-job ba- sis, has resonated in government and the defence sector globally. Over the past five years, WithYouWithMe has demonstrat- ed the success of this model in Australia through its projects with government and private industry, as well as more recently through the Cyber Workforce Enable- ment Program contract in Canada. For this latter development, WithYouWithMe is collaborating with EY Canada, the Ca- nadian Armed Forces, and Shared Services Canada to address the digital talent gap by upskilling CAF veterans for projects within the Government of Canada, thus showcas- ing a replicable and scalable solution to ad- dress the global tech talent shortage. "Public and private sectors need to think outside of the box to leverage members of our broader community to build a sustain- able workforce in cybersecurity. Looking beyond a candidate's experience to their transferable skills and potential can help fill the talent gap," says Jamie O'Hare, As- sociate Partner, EY Canada Cybersecurity Practice. "That's exactly what we're doing with WithYouWithMe. Military person- nel are trained in land, air, and sea and by simply adding new digital terrain, we can leverage the expertise and skills that they already possess." In order for organisations to keep up with the rapidly changing digital environ- ment they operate in, the digital skills that were relevant even just three years ago are outdated and redundant today, a problem that traditional education providers have been unable to solve. By creating a learn- ing environment that is completely online, has self-paced and instructor-lead learning, and that focuses on the skills needed for today and tomorrow that organisations want such as data analysis, cybersecurity, software coding, and digital solutions SIGNAL OPERATOR. Photo: DND

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