Universities Minister David Willetts has praised county MP Harriett Baldwin for her efforts promoting ‘cyber valley’ in Parliament. The comments were made as Harriett quizzed the Minister on cyber security skills training for IT professionals. Harriett told David Willetts: “Cyber security IT skills are vital for the online world. Will he welcome the initiative by private sector firms in my constituency to set up a cyber skills training centre and can I invite him, once again, to visit.” The Minister responded that he hoped he would be able to come to the town and added: “I know how much my honourable friend does to support the Malvern cluster which will soon be rivaling the Cambridge cluster and the one in Tech city.” Harriett has been a champion of ‘cyber valley’ which is a cluster of cyber security firms operating in and around Malvern supporting the UK Government and GCHQ in Cheltenham as well as clients around the world. Companies on Malvern Hills Science Park have been working together with a national training provider to create a major new training initiative based in Malvern. The initiative will involve local schools and companies providing state-of-the-art training for cyber security workers. The initiative was previewed to Defence Procurement Minister Philip Dunne last month and four other Government Ministers have visited Malvern to see the cyber valley cluster in action. Harriett added: “Malvern is a model of enterprise where small and large companies are working together with local and national government to deliver national solutions. “The cyber training centre will be an important national resource and I am immensely proud that it will be set up on our Science Park employing local people and creating new jobs for the area. “We have some of the brightest minds in this field working in and around Malvern and this training initiative will see Malvern at the heart of creating the next generation of cyber experts to protect us from online attack.” FULL TEXT: Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con): What assessment he has made of the ability of businesses to recruit staff with appropriate IT skills. [901453] The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts): Our recent information economy strategy shows that employers find it hard to get people with the right IT skills, yet there is also relatively high unemployment among computer science graduates. That is why I recently convened a round-table with vice-chancellors and employers to tackle that mismatch. I know that issue is vital in the Malvern cyber-valley that my hon. Friend does so much to support. Harriett Baldwin: Indeed, cyber-security IT skills are vital for the online world. Will the Minister welcome the initiative by private sector firms in my constituency to set up a cyber-skills training centre, and may I invite him, once again, to visit? Mr Willetts: I do support that initiative and I hope it will be possible to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency, because I know how much she does to support the Malvern cluster, which will soon be rivalling the Cambridge cluster and tech city. | Hansard