Taxpayer-funded cybersecurity course with 80pc dropout rate and recruitment issues labelled a 'patch job'

A taxpayer-funded initiative to address a cybersecurity skills shortage has been labelled a "patch job" with an 80 per cent student dropout rate, the training hub winning an excellence award amid course compliance concerns, and a LEGO city promoted as a "highlight" that was not actually used.

TasTAFE received $1.5 million each from the federal and state governments, which was used to establish the Cyber Innovation Training Hub, where the next generation of cybersecurity experts was going to be taught.

When student Tom saw the ad for a Certificate IV in Cyber Security in Hobart, he found it forward-looking.

"We don't have jobs down here for this area. Australia is very lacking in it," he said.

As one of the few students who did not quit the course, he now believes it was a government-funded "patch job" that has wasted public money.

"They just rushed it through, and it set itself up to fail.

"Don't blame the teachers, they did the best they could."

'Shortage of qualified cybersecurity teachers'

It fell on TasTAFE's education project leader Kate Elliott to establish the new program and, according to the online ad, find "experienced and motivated cybersecurity professionals" to teach it.

After multiple recruitment rounds, and one suitable candidate falling through, TasTAFE landed two "teachers under supervision".

The first recruit, who was going to be working remotely, had never been a cybersecurity professional, but had managed responses to cyber incidents.

The second hire had most recently held the roles of a special education, arts, drama and class teacher — and had started studying cybersecurity about eight months before being employed by TasTAFE.

TasTAFE told the ABC that initial recruitment efforts were impacted by "a nationwide shortage of qualified cybersecurity teachers", but that it was able to appoint associate teachers "with substantial industry experience" while continuing to look for a qualified cybersecurity teacher.

By March 2023, both associate teachers were being supervised to put together course materials for the first intake of students scheduled to start in July.

As a member of the broader TAFE cyber network, TasTAFE had access to shared resources and assessments.

About three months into the new course, students had started pulling out.

Around this time, another recruit, who had taught the course at New South Wales TAFE, joined the ranks.

Several sources told the ABC there was tension among staff about how the course was taught.

But with the impending grand opening of the new Cyber Innovation Training Hub — expected to be graced with ministers — TasTAFE had a bigger problem to solve.

Troy Anning, who was an education manager, sent staff a confidential email in April 2024 about course compliance concerns.

He said TasTAFE would not be taking a mid-year intake of cyber students, nor would it take any trainees until all assessments, learning and staff were ready to deliver the program.

Students from the first intake would be given extensions and their units would be changed to match the units in the 2024 offering as much as possible.

"[I will] redeploy teachers into Cyber C4 to develop learning, assessment and delivery so that the course is compliant ASAP," he wrote.

A student from the first intake later wrote a complaint to Mr Anning, expressing "disappointment with the way the first intake have been treated since the mandatory six-month extension of our course".

"I understand the issues with learning materials not meeting compliance, but I feel that the students are paying the price for the incompetence of TasTAFE," it read.

About nine weeks after Mr Anning wrote to staff about compliance issues, TasTAFE's Cyber Hub won an excellence award for the best cybersecurity initiative from the industry peak body, TasICT.

In a response to the ABC, TasTAFE said the mid-year intake in 2024 was not possible due to a commitment to maintaining high-quality delivery and "space constraints" in the Cyber Hub.

"A thorough review in early 2024 led to the development of updated assessments aligned with revised delivery plans."

Instead of completing the course in 12 months, the first cohort of students was given almost two years to finish it, and the second intake about 14 months.

The first intake had a 75 per cent dropout rate, and the second one even greater at 80 per cent.

'I'd ask for my money back,' student says

Kori Valentine was one of the students who started in the second intake in February 2024, but withdrew because the class was "not making the pace it needed to".

"I felt that my time was better spent elsewhere," he said.

By May, one of the cybersecurity course teachers had left TasTAFE and other information and communication technology staff stepped in.

Students were made to resubmit any assessments that had compliance concerns.

"The teachers were actually very up front about what was happening," Mr Valentine said.

"I would commend them for their honesty and whatnot, but it was one of the things that really made it obvious that things weren't quite working out."

Another student, Tom, said it was rash to roll out a course where students were doing assessments that had yet to receive a quality tick-off.

Although the course was free until 2025, he was left questioning its value.

But Mr Valentine said he "got a lot out of it".

"I learned pretty much everything I need to know to have a solid foundation going forward security-wise," he said.

With another teacher leaving in September 2024, and the remote teacher no longer taking the class, all three people TasTAFE had hired for the cybersecurity course were no longer involved.

Not new and exciting — unfinished and experimental, student says

A 50,000-piece 'LEGO City Build — Cyber Games', featuring Tasmanian landmarks, was touted as a "centrepiece" and "highlight" of the new hub by Skills and Jobs Minister Felix Ellis and TasTAFE.

But when Mr Valentine saw a local news report that conveyed students were simulating cyber attacks and defences on the block city, he was perplexed.

"For the entire seven months that I was there, it wasn't working. It wasn't finished and we didn't even do any sort of simulated activity like that," he said.

Multiple students of the 2024 class told the ABC they did not get to use the LEGO simulation.

"[The news report] was also kind of where we saw up front that $3.5 million was invested," Mr Valentine said.

"And I sat there thinking, 'Where? Where's that money gone?'

When he first saw the course being advertised, he thought it was sold as "this new exciting field to be looking into".

"The terms new and exciting, to me, I read as modern and refined and professionally in demand," he said.

"But then, experiencing the course, I realised that what that really meant was unfinished and experimental."

TasTAFE told the ABC that engagement with the LEGO city simulation "was limited in 2024 due to curriculum adjustments".

"It has now been fully integrated into the learning infrastructure, with plans to embed it more deeply into future course delivery," it said.

TasTAFE was given the $1.5 million federal grant to build a hub that offers "face-to-face and virtual training with a strong focus on industry experiences and industry needs embedded at every stage".

The hub was designed to replicate a real-life Cyber Security Operations Centre, where students learn to prevent and respond to incidents in two dedicated rooms — red for simulated attacks and blue for asset defence.

But Iliyana Raleva of the 2024 class said she was "disappointed" the course was not as practical as she thought, and that TasTAFE did not uphold its promise to have industry experts come and talk to students.

She also said TasTAFE had promised to help students who wanted to gain entry-level industry experience.

"I would have probably had more luck in Sydney or Melbourne, but that defeats the purpose of trying to create an industry here."

TasTAFE told the ABC there was informal industry engagement in 2023 and 2024 with industry leaders — such as TasICT, TasNetworks, local employers and the Australian Women's National Security Network — and that this evolved into a formal Cyber Industry Expert Pilot Program in 2025.

Current intake 'progressing well', government and TasTAFE say

TasTAFE acknowledged that early challenges had impacted the learner experience.

"The 2025 intake is progressing well, and TasTAFE remains committed to delivering industry-relevant training that equips learners with the skills and experience needed to pursue careers in cybersecurity."

When the ABC put questions to minister Felix Ellis, a government spokesperson said the course had faced some challenges early on, and repeated TasTAFE's statement that "the 2025 course intake is progressing well".

"The Cyber Hub has become a dynamic space for learning and collaboration, hosting cyber awareness training, school engagement programs, and professional development events," the spokesperson said.

Data indicates that so far this year, about a third of students have pulled out of the course.

TasTAFE said of the 19 enrolments this year, 12 "active learners" remain.