Julian Meyrick is Vice President for Security, IBM Europe. IBM has been sponsoring cybersecurity training courses for military veterans. It is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. It started in the US where 1,000 people have been trained and has now reached the UK. Every month, Salute My Job selects 10 military veterans, IBM provides the trainer and software and the Corsham Institute provides the premises.
Meyrick agreed to talk about the programme to Enterprise Times. Supporting military veterans is more than just part of the job for Meyrick. He is a former British Army officer himself. He believes that it is soft skills and the ability to keep calm in a crisis that makes UK service personnel ideally suited for cybersecurity.
The ability to adapt to a situation is also highly prized by Meyrick. Cybersecurity is not about following a strict script. It needs people to be able to deal with changes in the situation without waiting to be told what to do. That initiative is something that military veterans are trained in.
But working with veterans can bring challenges. Meyrick talked about how IBM addressed the specific needs of veterans as they move from a service to a civilian environment. He also talked about the impact on business units of unexpectedly long deployments. Perhaps the most challenging thing for most companies is how to deal with service personnel who need long term care. This is not just physical care for obvious injuries but also those with mental issues.
To hear more of what Meyrick had to say, listen to the podcast.
Where can I get it?
- obtain it, for Android devices from play.google.com/music/podcasts
- use the Enterprise Times page on Stitcher
- use the Enterprise Times page on Podchaser
- listen to the podcast (below) or download the podcast to your local device and then listen there
I am a disabled Veteran who has taken the last ten years to retrain in this field. I am ready to work, but will always require further education as will everyone in this field. I may have some issues, but I believe my abilities outweigh my disability and that I would be a formidable addition to any team given the opportunity. It is good to see that the industry is starting to recognize in theory the capacity of veterans, but for a veteran such as myself talk is cheap. I really need to move onto the practical experience and work portion of the training I have taken to augment my previous security training. Perhaps a reader here, seeing as it is a focused group may consider this as a targeted elevator conversation, even a bit of social engineering to force a conversation. Waiting for input, and waiting to work… if anyone is out there with work and some time to allow the adjustment to occur.
Arnold
I too am ex-service hence my interest in the number of companies that are claiming they want ex-service personnel. Some of this is through the Armed Forces Covenant and some through the cybersecurity industry itself. The challenge of dealing with disability is something that many companies struggle with due to a lack of training internally.
Ian