Career Campus - Changing lives, one person at a time
The Cybersecurity programme at Impactful Specialist Solutions has changed my life! Doing well in such programmes has built my self-esteem and confidence and has enabled me to step into my power.
Frank William Abagnale once said: “Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Ladies and gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.”
Like Frank, I am that second mouse. Where I come from not everyone believes that they are destined for great things. At times it is usually those we look up to who demotivate the young ones and leave them scared to chase their dreams. Having said that, there have been times when I did not believe in myself and was scared to take part in opportunities presented to me. I thought I would fail, or would not even be accepted to start off with.
I am from a very small town in the Eastern Cape called Cofimvaba where there are little to no opportunities for young, black people. I thank God for my mother and my late father. Even though they were uneducated, they ensured that I understand the importance of a good education. With the little Spaza shop they had, they did everything they could to make sure that my older siblings and I could attend school. It has not been an easy journey – there were times that we struggled with basic needs like food, school fees, etc. My mom used to say, “Noba ubomi bunganzima buthini, ungaze unikezele kwaye ungaze ubukeke njenge ngxaki zakho,” which translates to “no matter how hard life gets, you must never give up and let your problems define you.”
I decided to further my studies while looking for job opportunities. Hope and faith kept me going. After many rejections, I stumbled on this amazing opportunity, and I am where I am today because of it. The Cybersecurity programme at Impactful Specialist Solutions has changed my life! Doing well in such programmes has built my self-esteem and confidence and has enabled me to step into my power. The cybersecurity career is intriguing – there is always an opportunity to learn and upskill oneself. This programme helped me to complete on-demand certifications like Ethical Hacking, Security+, and Cloud+ as well as find other cybersecurity platforms to continuously improve my knowledge and skills.
Technology is constantly evolving, and cybersecurity has become part of our daily lives. It is such an interesting time to be part of this change. It gives one a sense of purpose as there is always a significant responsibility for defending organisations against emerging threats. The shortage in cybersecurity skills opens up the opportunity for young professionals to take up their career and have more chances in the job market.
It is important that organisations invest in skills development programmes as this ensures that employees are productive and flexible to adopt new solutions based on demand, and that they are able to grow in the professional environment. With skilled employees, organisations stay competitive in the market.
