Permanent Secretary Urges Early Cybersecurity Education in Schools

Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Ambassador Dr. Rocky Meade, has called for the integration of cybersecurity education into Jamaica’s school curriculum, beginning at the primary level.

He made the call while delivering the keynote address during the opening ceremony for the Jamaica Cyber Youth Empowerment Academy at the S Hotel in Kingston on Monday (September 29).

Ambassador Meade highlighted the shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the country and region, noting that the gap could have serious consequences if left unaddressed.

“Some of the classic symptoms include increased risk and vulnerability to cyberattacks for organisations, higher costs associated with breaches, burnout among the existing cyber security professionals due to the shortage, compliance issues and potential fines in regulated industries, innovation challenges that slow the digital transformation efforts, and the economic impacts, potentially leading to trillions of dollars of unrealised annual revenue,” he outlined.

he Permanent Secretary said addressing the issue requires bold and disruptive action across the entire cyber talent pipeline.

“This includes [the] introduction of cyber and its associated branches at the primary level within our education system; and the reason for that is, our youngsters, our babies, are naturally digitally capable. You give them a device, and they figure something out without reading the instructions. If we seek to take them away from the devices at the primary level, and then we hope to re-introduce it at the tertiary level, it would not be the best way for them to develop. So we need primary, secondary, tertiary level… building progressively,” he stated.

Ambassador Meade further emphasised that addressing the national cybersecurity gap requires a multifaceted approach—one that promotes public awareness, modernises training programmes, and makes certification more accessible and affordable.

He also stated that stakeholders must invest in upskilling, adopt skills-based hiring practices, strengthen diversity and inclusivity within the cybersecurity workforce, develop robust talent pipelines, and strategically leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

Thirty young Jamaicans, aged 18 to 24, have commenced a six-month intensive cybersecurity training programme at the Academy.

The initiative was developed through collaboration among the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the Ministry of National Security and Peace, and the Organization of American States (OAS), with funding support from the Government of Canada.