Christopher Fitzsimons

Cyber Security

WorldSkills Special Edition 2022 2022

Help Christopher compete in Special Edition 2022

Christopher Fitzsimons initially planned to study carpentry as a trade.

However, he’d always enjoyed working with technology, and a decision to go with his gut saw him take on Information Technology Networking, and eventually Cybersecurity instead.

Christopher is incredibly dedicated to gaining more knowledge in his field, and has already completed a Certificate IV in Network Security, a Certificate IV in Cybersecurity and an Advanced Diploma in Cybersecurity at South Metro TAFE in Western Australia. He is also currently studying for a Bachelor in Cybersecurity and Forensics at Murdoch University.

After entering a WorldSkills regional competition because it “sounded fun”, Christopher was
invited to compete at the 2021 WorldSkills Australia National Championships, where he was able to meet new people, test his skills against other regions and walk away with a Silver medal.

Currently, Chris is working closely with expert Sawan Singh in preparation for the 46th WorldSkills International Competition in Shanghai this coming August. Given that Christopher already works on the Defense side of Cybersecurity, his training plan is geared towards Offensive security and penetration testing. Through his training, he hopes to obtain skills as a penetration tester and improve his skills in secure coding, engineering and defense.

With Cybersecurity being such a high-stakes environment in which to work, Christopher believes skills excellence is integral for success in this field. “Cybersecurity Analysts and Incident Responders are required to have the right instinct, confidence, knowledge and experience to be able to react under pressure and make the right decisions. Skills excellence can be the difference between a company being compromised or not and how quickly they can react to an incident.”

With a bright career path in a high-growth sector ahead of him, Christopher hopes his skillset will prepare him for the competition, and allow him to represent Australia the best he can.

Expert

Sawan Singh

Keysight Technology’s Sawan Singh is the IT and cybersecurity expert who will be leading our first-ever Skillaroos Cyber Security team to the 46th WorldSkills International Competition in Shanghai.

With over 18 years of experience in the industry, Sawan is well-placed to guide Christopher in his bid for a medal in Shanghai.

By mentoring competitors, Sawan hopes to impart his own industry knowledge, as well as gain new knowledge and leadership skills in the process.

Says Sawan, “Helping my team win a medal will be nice, but building that excellence for myself, competitors, for the Australian workforce and for the industry is my primary goal.”