Courses start this month in Charleroi, Ghent, Brussels and Liège. BeCode wants to help fill the shortage of cybersecurity professionals.

Demand for cybersecurity personnel is high among Belgian companies. A lack of security talent increases the risk of vulnerabilities, according to studies by Fortinet and Beltug. Nevertheless, there is hardly any training on the topic of cyber security. The Brussels programming school BeCode wants to change that with a nationwide rollout of cyber security training.

The training will be offered in four Belgian cities in spring and autumn 2023. Training in Charleroi started on April 18th. Anyone interested in learning more about cybersecurity can visit Ghent or Brussels from May 16, and a program will also start in Liège from September. After seven months of training and one to three months of internship, the students must be ready to work in a company immediately.

Education is essential

The courses are supported by Microsoft and Close The Gap. “The digital train drives super fast and together we switch to the right support. We therefore see a great demand for the right security profiles in our market. These efforts are essential to ensure that nobody is left behind and that Belgium remains at the forefront of digital innovation,” said Marijke Schroos, General Manager of Microsoft Belux.

“Cybersecurity does not have a specific educational structure that is accessible to all. However, more than ever, digital security is an important issue for our companies, our institutions and Belgium in general. The growth of the sector is exponential and the opportunities matter. We are very proud to expand this education and thereby democratize cybersecurity challenges,” added Béatrice de Mahieu, CEO of BeCode.org.

In addition to cybersecurity, BeCode also offers training courses on coding and AI, with the aim of getting young IT talents into professional life as quickly as possible. Molenbeek-based company Molengeek also organizes cybersecurity training, which Microsoft already supports.