Together with other young people, Henriette Norgaard (19) and Amund Pelsgården (21) have been through tough entrance exams at Sessvollmoen the last week. They are fighting for school places for the Armed Forces. But the two stand out from the other candidates. They have applied for the engineering education for the cyber defense. The application there has dropped drastically from 300 applicants to 178 applicants in a few years. The one-year cyber-technician education is even worse off. There are too few candidates for the 40 study places. Although the Armed Forces is more dependent on them than ever. – We see that threats come in new forms. So cyber defense is a new area, it is important that we are well equipped to handle it, says Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram. He believes that the Armed Forces must consider measures if recruitment does not pick up again. Last week’s computer attack, in which several large public websites were hit, is an example of the need to stop the attacks. And ahead of the military attack on Ukraine, the country was subjected to a number of computer attacks. Get free education In a sand mound at Sessvollmoen, Henriette Norgaard sits and fills up sandbags. The task of the 19-year-old from Gjøvik and the others is to create a position the team can cover behind. Tough admissions requirements: Filling sandbags to create a position where the squad can cover itself behind is a heavy job the young people experience. Photo: Anne Kari Løberg / news The physical admission requirements are tough. Although she and the others on the team have applied for a free three-year bachelor’s degree in engineering and telematics. They shall be trained to operate, plan and protect the communications system of the Armed Forces. – I like to challenge myself and think this was an exciting opportunity, says Henriette Norgaard. She does not see darkly that it entails three years of service in the Armed Forces after three years of study. – Six years is a while. But it is not so long in the long life. I get free education, a place to live, free food and no student loans, she says. Amund Pelsholen, who carries the heavy sandbags to the position while he is yelled at by the instructors, will also have an engineering education in the Armed Forces. NOT FAST ENOUGH: Amund Pelsholen carries the sandbags while he gets scolded by the instructors for not going fast enough. Photo: Anne Kari Løberg / news – I have long thought that I want an engineering education and management education, says the 21-year-old. Why there are fewer young people who think like him, he is not sure. Competing with the civilian educations The Armed Forces’ cyber education is located at Jørstadmoen in Lillehammer. In 2014, it was upgraded from a classic military camp for conscripts to a state-of-the-art competence center for the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces collaborates with NTNU at Gjøvik on IT studies. But at NTNU, which also offers studies in cybersecurity, they have not noticed the same decline, even though there is a general decline in the number of applicants for higher education this year. – We are below the national decline and have more applicants than places. And it happens even though there are now more colleges that offer this education than it was before, says head of department Nils Kalstad. The Armed Forces competes with several colleges for young people with an interest in IT. The deputy commander of the Cyber Engineering School, Dag Kjønø, believes this is one of the reasons for the decline in the number of applicants. COMPETITING WITH CIVILIAN: The head of the Cyber Engineering School at Jørstadmoen, Dag Kjønø, does not think they have succeeded in promoting the education the Armed Forces has. Photo: Anne Kari Løberg / news – And then we think we have not quite hit on the recruitment in the pandemic, he says. They have not been able to market themselves enough to the young people because society was shut down until the application deadline expired. Can not fill all the places The Armed Forces is also struggling to get candidates for the one-year cyber technician line at Jørstadmoen. There are 40 school places, but when the school principal is on the admission at Sessvollmoen, he has only 29 candidates to choose from. – This could lead to some battalions not having cyber technicians to solve the technical challenges, says Kjetil Røstad. TOO FEW APPLICANTS: The head of the Cyber Defense’s specialist schools, Kjetil Røstad, has too few applicants for the 40 places they have for the one-year cyber technician line. Photo: Anne Kari Løberg / news He sees that they are in great competition with other jobs and studies. In addition, they struggle with having applicants who fail the physical exams. Lars Wiig Dagestad, who is one of the candidates, confirms that the admission requirements are tough. However, he has no doubt that this is what he wants. – I had expected that there would be more candidates. IT security and technology have become more and more relevant, he says. IMPORTANT TRAY: Lars Wiig Dagestad (right) and the other candidates for the Cyber Technician line get to try out equipment in the field during the recordings. Photo: Hanna Høegh / THE DEFENSE Even though there are now more places than candidates, this does not mean that everyone enters. – Then we must rather live with the fact that we are not able to deliver another period, says Kjetil Røstad who hopes they will be able to recruit more next year. Surprised by the decline Stein Garang, Head of Selection at Sessvollmoen, is also surprised by the decline in technical education. – We have to follow this up, he says. During the admissions this week, Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) visited during the admissions tests. He’s worried. The digital threat has come closer after the war in Ukraine. CONCERN: Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) visited Sessvollmoen and Chief of Defense Admissions and Selection (FOS) Stein Garang this week. Photo: Anne Kari Løberg / news – We focus more on this type of function in the Armed Forces, says Gram. He believes that the demand for this type of competence everywhere in society is a competitor for the candidates. – Then it is important that the Armed Forces are also now attractive, he says.
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Drastic decline in applicants for the cyber line to the Armed Forces at Jørstadmoen – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
