In an ever-changing world where skills and innovation reign supreme, the importance of vocational education and training has never been more critical. Enter WorldSkills, a global movement that celebrates excellence in skilled professions, empowers youth, and fosters international collaboration. Founded on the belief that skills drive the future, WorldSkills has become a driving force in promoting education, training, and career opportunities for young people worldwide.

WorldSkills competitions are at the heart of this movement. These international events bring together the best young skilled professionals from various countries to compete in their respective fields. From carpentry and cooking to robotics and web design, these competitions showcase the remarkable talents and expertise of the participants. Beyond mere contests, WorldSkills events are platforms for cultural exchange, knowledge-sharing, and networking.

Dean Brennan is a cybersecurity researcher with Cyberskills in MTU. He will be proudly representing CyberSkills as he competes in the prestigious WorldSkills Ireland competition this September. Meanwhile, CyberSkills' esteemed lecturer, Dr George O'Mahony,  will assume the vital role of chief examiner for the Cybersecurity section. Together, they exemplify CyberSkills commitment to excellence in the field of cybersecurity and showcase their expertise on a national and global stage. Janssen Sciences Ireland UC is sponsoring the national final of WorldSkills Ireland Skill 54 Cybersecurity.

The cybersecurity section includes different modules which comprise of several challenges such as: Enterprise Infrastructure Security; Cyber Security Incident Response, Digital Forensic Investigations, and Application Security; and Capture-The-Flag (CTF) Challenges both Red and Blue team focused.  If these challenges sound of interest to you, and you are aged 18-25 working or studying in Ireland, then you can apply to participate in next year’s preliminary competition! Keep an eye out in early 2024 for more details.

The WorldSkills Ireland competition utilises a sophisticated cybersecurity infrastructure called a cyber-range. This is provided by Cyber Skills, which is Ireland’s only cybersecurity education provider to use this state-of-the-art infrastructure. The cyber-range has the ability to test the competitors’ skills by simulating real-world cybersecurity attack scenarios. This provides the competitors with a realistic experience when combatting threats and solving challenges.

The international WorldSkills competition takes place every two years, with the next one scheduled for 2024 in Lyon, France.  In the meantime, the WorldSkills Ireland competition will take place on the 20^th-22^nd of September 2023 in the RDS, Dublin.  Registration for secondary schools to attend is free, and can be done here.

All of the participants of the WorldSkills Ireland competition 2023, are the top competitors of the preliminary competitions from earlier in the year.  They will be competing in the National Final for the prestigious 2023 Silver Medal.  Not only does the competition give each participant the opportunity to showcase their skill, but it also gives them the chance to move further along the competition by possibly being selected to represent Team Ireland in the WorldSkills International Competition in 2024.

Best of luck to the finalists who will be participating in the WorldSkills Ireland Cybersecurity competition at the RDS in September: Dean Brennan (MTU, CyberSkills), Bhavya Gaur (UL), Anna Kellegher (Irish Defence Forces), Amy O’Neill (Irish Defence Forces), Michael Svirydav (Technological University of the Shannon), and Luke Woodside (Technological University of the Shannon, Compliance Solutions Strategies).