Macquarie Government, a division of Macquarie Telecom Group, today announced it has signed an agreement with Fortem Australia to become an Employment Partner. This agreement commits the company to providing employment and career transfer possibilities for first responders across Australia.
Fortem Australia was established in 2019 to support the mental health and wellness of Australian emergency personnel and their families. John Bale, co-founder of Soldier On, a related group that provides career transition options for Australian soldiers, also co-founded the non-profit organization.
To serve Macquarie’s federal government clients, with an emphasis on national security and military ICT, the partnership will see Macquarie work closely with Fortem to reskill and attract first responders into new jobs, transferring them into cyber-security, cloud, and data center security roles.
Moreover, To find possibilities for first responders within the Macquarie Government, the company will also create and implement its own First Responder Recruitment Strategy in collaboration with Fortem.
Through the agreement, Macquarie and Fortem will collaborate closely to promote programs that will help first responders who want to change careers and work in the cyber and data security industry. These initiatives will include networking events, training opportunities, and resources.
The agreement was reached after the Federal Government emphasized in the Budget the necessity of working in collaboration with business to address talent shortages in critical areas. According to AustCyber, there will be a minimum of 17,000 new jobs in cyber security by 2026.
According to Aidan Tudehope, Macquarie Government Managing Director, in order to satisfy the government’s agenda for cyber security, the partnership with Fortem will help to develop Australia’s sovereign cyber and defense talent.
Australia has to significantly strengthen its cyber defenses across the board. The talent pool needs to be massively expanded for the country as a whole to achieve this boost. Due to the nature of cyber-security, it is necessary to foster talent through a sovereign lens in order to ensure that Australians are trained in the field and employed to safeguard Australian data.
“Australia’s first responders are among the best in the world. Many of them possess the analytical, investigative, problem-solving, and pattern-recognition skills necessary for success in cyber, defense technology and related industries. In many cases, they already have the essential security clearances needed to work with sensitive data. We’re committed to continuing our goal of uplifting Australian sovereign capability in cyber security and ICT, and this important partnership with Fortem will help us in that effort.” said Tudehope.
For John Bale, Fortem Australia Managing Director and Co-Founder, more first responder families will benefit from the partnership with Macquarie Telecom Group as they transition into the next phase of their careers smoothly and with support.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Macquarie to the Fortem family. Partnering with the right companies to enable career transition for first responders and their families is central to our mission to provide specialized wellbeing and mental fitness support to first responder families. Macquarie has long championed Australian jobs and skills development and is a leading company in an industry where there is close values alignment with and strong mutual benefits for first responders.” said Bale.
As a further demonstration of the company’s dedication to sovereign IT competence, Macquarie Telecom Group recently joined VMware’s Sovereign Cloud program.
