Building Controls and Energy Services Leaders Find Solutions in Cybersecurity Apprenticeships
Protect Your Systems and Customers From Cybersecurity Threats.
“Everybody has something that can be stolen,” says Carla Miller. “So just imagine what a breach can do to a whole company or a whole building.”
Miller is a growing voice in the conversation about the role of cybersecurity in smart infrastructure. As a General Manager for Albireo Energy in the Southeast, a leading independent building controls and energy services business, she’s on a mission to educate more building owners and operators about the relationship between technological innovation and the prevention of cybersecurity incidents.
Building Technology Expertise Acquired On the Job
Miller was just 17 years old when she started working in the building automation industry. As a high school student employed by what was then Alabama Controls, she had an after-school job working in the accounting office. “When I started,” laughs Miller, “I really didn’t know what we did.” Miller had been around computers all her life and had a natural curiosity for learning networks. Clayton Reuse, the founder of Alabama Controls, encouraged her to learn as much as she wanted. “I think you could pick this up,” he told her. And she did.
Even as a college student, Miller worked in the field. When she finished her undergraduate degree in interior design, Miller’s boss offered some career advice: “We don’t think you should go into interior design,” she remembers him saying. That’s because Miller had spent her free time teaching herself networks. She was in her 20s when she started managing networks and later became an IT manager. In the last two decades, Miller has had almost every company role. In 2020, she was promoted to her current position as General Manager for Albireo Energy’s Southeast division based in Alabama.
For Miller, choosing a career in the building automation industry was an easy decision. As an inquisitive self-starter, she loved how every day offered something new to learn. “It's a fascinating field, so much more complex than a thermostat,” says Miller.
With the evolution of smart buildings happening concurrently with Miller’s 20 years in the industry, she’s had a front-row seat to the constantly changing technologies that make intelligent buildings work.
Her passion for cybersecurity stems from an understanding of how building systems work from the inside out. While some companies view cybersecurity as loss prevention and others consider it a competitive advantage, Miller sees it as a necessity. Miller believes outdated software in building systems is one of the biggest and most basic cybersecurity precaution owners can take. Ensuring companies keep software patches up-to-date is vital, according to Miller.
Cybersecurity Apprenticeships Offer Training Solutions
Counseling Albireo Energy’s clients on how to manage cybersecurity risks in building systems means also investing in employees. According to Miller, the protocols and vulnerabilities are rapidly changing, and it’s essential for employees to stay up to speed and minimize any added risk to customers.
“Most of our employees have been in the industry for 20-30 years, and we operate in a way that ensures that each person knows the job from start to finish.”
That’s why in 2023, Miller enrolled her first staff member in the first operational technology Cybersecurity Apprenticeship program that was recognized by the White House, the U.S. Department of Labor, and multi-government agencies to address cybersecurity for the smart infrastructure industry.
Launched in January 2023, the Cybersecurity Apprenticeship was developed by Automation Strategy & Performance, Inc. (ASP) and is delivered by Emerging Technology Apprenticeships. ASP is a strategic workforce development partner for employers in the smart infrastructure sector of the automation industry. ASP develops curricula for upskilling employees and sponsors Emerging Technology Apprenticeships (ETA), a non-profit school operating a nationally registered and accredited program that attracts, develops, and certifies current employees and career seekers for the OT jobs critical to the smart infrastructure.
The Cybersecurity Apprenticeship is a unique program designed to build needed cybersecurity competencies in building automation roles, giving employers like Albireo Energy a way to ensure their employees are trained according to the latest security protocols. Miller sees the cybersecurity apprenticeship program as a great fit for current employees, and in addition to her first enrolled apprentice, already has 10 more employees identified for the apprenticeship program.
Like many industry insiders, Miller believes that continuously developing employees is a crucial measure for employers who want to attract, recruit and retain people in the building automation industry. Miller views the cybersecurity apprenticeships as a win-win for Albireo Energy, “Employee training means instant productivity. Plus, our employees already know our customers, and our customers trust them.” Miller also sees the cybersecurity apprenticeship program as the bridge the building automation industry needs now, “The program is poised to attract and bring in more people with that tradesmen mentality and work ethic. It’s what we need to expand the workforce.”
Miller believes Albireo Energy’s commitment to cybersecurity training is a way to serve its clients at the highest level. “As smart building integrators, we need strong cybersecurity competence for building systems. Our customers expect it of us, and as a company that prides itself on staying connected, we expect it ourselves too.”
The world of intelligent buildings is vast and ever-changing. Miller is poised to help more government, data centers, healthcare, commercial buildings, and other organizations understand the real risks and choose to include cybersecurity in their ongoing operations and maintenance planning.
“Trusting your technology partner is essential,” says Miller, “And so is knowing when to not mess with the system and when to reach out for help.”
