Pôle Formation Des Industries Technologiques is a French training center that specializes in high-level degrees in cybersecurity, among other fields. Students often take work-study courses under an apprenticeship with various companies. This allows them to obtain a recognized diploma while gaining professional experience.

Pôle needed a partnership with a cybersecurity training provider that can equip its students for successful careers in cybersecurity. This included training that not only taught relevant technical skills but also cybersecurity methodologies and soft skills needed for a successful career in the field. Furthermore, industry-recognized certifications were required for students to advance their careers.

Through a partnership with OffSec,  Pôle students had the opportunity to enroll in the PEN-200 course and earn the coveted OSCP. Students who successfully completed the course were able to prove technical acumen and were given a merit salary increase and promotions across the board. 

French students find cybersecurity career success

Pôle Formation Des Industries Technologiques students score salary increases and promotions after completing OffSec courses.

Highlights

Challenges

• Need for industry-recognized cybersecurity training
• Provide students with employment opportunities after earning their degree
• Reaching the goal of 1000+ students specializing in cybersecurity by 2023

Solutions

• Students were given a salary increase and promotions after OffSec course completion
• Students felt confident going into their new careers
• Students felt part of a close-knit community, which was challenging since the cybersecurity community is comparably small in France

About Pôle Formation Des Industries Technologiques

Pôle Formation Des Industries Technologiques is a French training center. The training center specializes in work-study higher education for students. They train their students in industrial trades

through apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship allows them to obtain a recognized diploma while gaining professional experience. Its main areas of expertise are electrical engineering, mechanics, design and studies, IT, automation, maintenance, and the sale of technical products.

Hands-on cybersecurity training for real-world experience

Pôle specializes in digital certifications and high-level degrees in various fields, including cybersecurity. They currently have 500 students enrolled in cybersecurity degrees and programs, with plans to have over 1000 students specialized in cybersecurity by 2023.

Many of Pôle's students take their work-study courses under an apprenticeship or professionalization contract with companies. These programs allow the work-study students to progress through the acquisition of complementary professional skills.

In order to prepare their students for successful careers in cybersecurity, Pôle University needed a partnership with a cybersecurity training provider that doesn’t only equip their students with necessary technical and soft skills, but also provides them with certifications that are recognized in the industry, and allows them to progress in their careers

Why OffSec?

Jeremy Nedjar, an instructor at Pôle University, earned the coveted OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP) certification several years earlier in his career. Seeing how OSCP positively impacted his ability to find important clients for his penetration testing services, and how well known it is around the world, Nedjar remains certain that OffSec will be an ideal cybersecurity learning and certification provider for Pôle University.

OffSec and the OSCP helped Pôle's students understand in what direction they want to take their cybersecurity careers, and provided them with the tools required to get them there.

The student’s working through OffSec's PEN-200 course found that they quickly became comfortable with various facets of penetration testing, even through the difficulty of the course load. This was accredited to the OSCP being a condensed and practical way to learn. The students really felt they had to embrace a Try Harder mentality.

When working in cybersecurity, the proper mentality is integral to a successful career. That’s why here at OffSec, our content delivery system is focused on not only technical mastery, but also non- tangential skills such as maintaining a growth mindset, learning when to ask for help, and also when not to.

Students who successfully completed the PEN-200 course were able to prove technical acumen and were given a merit salary increase and promotions across the board. They have quoted that they have felt confident going into their new careers after successfully completing the OSCP certification exam.