Hundreds of thousands of cyber jobs in government and the private sector are vacant, and the administration says that filling them is a national security imperative. Today, the administration unveiled its ambitious National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) which aims at addressing both short-term needs and long-terms requirements.
Today (Monday), the administration unveiled the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES), a comprehensive approach aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs. The administration says that filling the hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies across the United States is a national security imperative, “and the Administration is making generational investments to prepare our country to lead in the digital economy. The NCWES is positioned to empower every American seeking to participate in our digital ecosystem and underscores the critical need to fill a vast number of vacant cyber jobs.”
Here is outline of the new strategy:
The approaches outlined in the NCWES will supplement the Administration’s ongoing efforts to grow and strengthen middle class working families, including through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. With the release of the NCWES, the Biden-Harris Administration is working to fill good paying, middle class jobs.
Many communities currently underrepresented in the cyber workforce do not envision themselves in cyber jobs or are not aware of the tremendous opportunity to join this important and growing workforce. The NCWES focuses on empowering Americans to pursue these career paths in cyber. Many of these jobs are attainable with a certificate or community college degree, and available now in your local community and across the country.
The NCWES follows the release of the President’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, which established a vision for the development of digital environment that is values-aligned and well resourced to address today’s complex threat environment. The NCWES envisions a skills-based digital future where workers have access to good-paying, middle-class cyber jobs within their communities. In addition, educators are enabled to continuously upskill the public, and employers can expand and diversify their workforce. The NCWES was developed in consultation with non-governmental stakeholder groups, including private industry, academia, non-profits, government partners, and more.
Guiding Imperatives
The NCWES emphasizes that no one actor can alone affect the needed change at scale. This means all stakeholders – including educators, industry, government, and more – must all execute on the objectives set forth in this Strategy.
Together, with our partners, the Biden-Harris Administration will:
· Leverage adaptable ecosystems to effect change at scale: The NCWES represents a whole-of-nation effort to spark, support, and scale local ecosystems for cyber education and workforce development.
· Enable the lifelong development of cyber skills: All Americans should be equipped with foundational cyber skills that are needed to navigate daily life. Those in every sector of the workforce should be prepared with industry-specific or occupation-specific cyber skills. Further, people who are in the cyber workforce should be equipped with specialized cyber skills that will change over the course of their careers.
· Grow and enhance the cyber workforce through improving its diversity and inclusion: A diverse workforce is a key strategic advantage. It increases the pool of eligible workers and which provides novel ways to solve problems and develop innovative solutions to our most complex challenges. The NCWES charts a course for providing all Americans with access to the good-paying jobs of the future.
Approach
The NCWES seeks to build and enhance collaboration around four pillars:
1. Equip Every American with Foundational Cyber Skills – enable everyone to enjoy the full benefits of our interconnected society:
· Make foundational cyber skill learning opportunities available to all;
· Promote the pursuit of foundational cyber skills and cyber careers; and, o Foster global progress in foundational cyber skills.
2. Transform Cyber Education – address the immediate demand for a skilled cyber workforce while also preparing learners to meet the future needs of a dynamic technological environment:
· Build and leverage ecosystems to improve cyber education, from K-12 education, to higher education, community colleges, and technical schools;
· Expand competency-based cyber education;
· Invest in educators and improving cyber education systems; and,
· Make cyber education and training more affordable and accessible.
3. Expand and Enhance the National Cyber Workforce – collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders, adopt a skills-based approach to recruitment and development, and increase access to cyber jobs for all Americans, including underserved and underrepresented groups:
· Grow the cyber workforce by proliferating and strengthening ecosystems;
· Promote skills-based hiring and workforce development;
· Leverage the diversity of America to strengthen the cyber workforce; and, o Enhance international engagements.
4. Strengthen the Federal Cyber Workforce – communicate the benefits of careers in public service amongst both job seekers and current employees and lower the barriers associated with hiring and onboarding:
· Drive sustained progress through greater federal collaboration;
· Attract and hire a qualified and diverse federal cyber workforce;
· Improve career pathways in the federal cyber workforce; and,
· Invest in human resources capabilities and personnel.
Commitments
Many of our stakeholders– including educators, industry, and government– have already demonstrated their commitment to the NCWES through their actions and partnerships:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF will invest over $24M in CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) awards over the next four years. These awards will support the development of a robust and resilient cybersecurity workforce by addressing the unique challenges around recruiting and retaining cybersecurity professionals for careers serving federal, local, state, or tribal governments. Awards will be made to: 1) University of Alabama at Birmingham; 2) California State University; Sacramento; 3) University of Tennessee Chattanooga; 4) Tuskegee University; 5) State University of New York at Buffalo; 6) Mississippi State University; and 7) Idaho State University.
National Security Agency (NSA)
The National Security Agency’s (NSA) National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program will release four grants to support a pilot initiative to develop four new Cyber Clinics at accredited U.S. colleges and universities in Nevada, Minnesota, Louisiana and Virginia. The Cyber Clinics will support communities and small governments that would otherwise not have access to cyber risk assessment and planning assistance and provide an opportunity for over 200 students to develop competencies while in a supervised learning environment. NSA also expects to increase the number of NCAE-C designated institutions to 460 by the end of 2024, which will serve a projected 174,000 students annually. NSA also sponsors GenCyber summer camps each year, with a goal of at least 100 camps across the country, serving 2,800 students and 600 teachers.
Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD)
ONCD is committed to greater diversity among internship applicants through increased recruitment and outreach to underrepresented communities, such as women, people of color, and people with disabilities. ONCD will identify unique outreach channels with a focus on reaching underrepresented communities and will create dedicated recruitment materials by the Summer 2024 intern application season.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NIST will award up to $3,600,000 for Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) cybersecurity education and workforce development projects. The Notice of Funding Opportunity for RAMPS is open to organizations that will bring together employers and educators to develop a skilled workforce to meet industry needs within a local or regional economy. NIST may fund up to 18 RAMPS awards. Additionally, in cooperation with Katzcy, a digital marketing firm, NIST supports the US Cyber Games to recruit, train, and develop the team representing the United States in international cybersecurity competitions. This program engages with over 2,000 individuals in the yearly U.S. Cyber Open and annually trains over 150 students though months-long U.S. Cyber Combine and Pipeline programs.
Department of Labor (DOL)
The Department of Labor announced a $65 million award in formula and competitive grants to 45 states and territories to develop and scale registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity and other critical sectors. Seven of these states and territories identified cybersecurity as one of their targeted sectors. DOL also made a competitive award to Utah to support the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Programs for cybersecurity and other sectors. The Department also announced a new Registered Apprenticeship industry intermediary, Safal Partners LLC, that will specifically focus on launching, promoting, and expanding Registered Apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
OPM will partner with federal agencies, the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) Council Recruitment and Outreach Working Group, and external, good-government groups to host a second Tech to Gov Job Fair by Q2 of FY2024. Further, OPM is conducting an occupational study to establish or update one or more occupational series covering Federal government positions in the fields of software development, software engineering, data science, and data management. OPM will explore Digital Career work in the Federal government to determine workforce needs and policy requirements supporting a Federal Digital Careers workforce. This study will identify the nature and scope of digital careers work and the skills needed to perform this work governmentwide. The results of the study will affect how Federal agencies attract, hire, and retain Digital Career professionals governmentwide. OPM’s Tech to Gov Working Group is also partnering with the US Digital Service to support tech hiring across government and cultivate a pipeline of skilled tech talent recruitment representatives, regardless of their job series.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
VA announced a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program for Veterans: a two-year developmental program within the VA Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC) to provide a unique, hands-on learning and development experience for cybersecurity apprentices, and to encourage a career in
the federal cybersecurity workforce. Program Apprentices will develop cyber knowledge and experience through mentoring, on-the-job training, and leading-edge training courses. The program is a registered apprenticeship with the Department of Labor and will begin recruiting
and onboarding its first cybersecurity apprenticeship cohort in Q1 FY2024. The first cohort will consist of approximately five transitioning veterans coming from tech-specific Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), with the hopes of increasing capacity to 10. In addition, VA authorized a Special Salary Rate (SSR) for its technology and cybersecurity personnel in the 2210, 1550, and 0854 occupational series. This is an important step towards closing the growing gap between industry and Federal Government salary rates for technology and cybersecurity roles. The SSR represents an average increase of 17% in basic pay for VA’s highly skilled technical workforce who are dedicated to providing veterans and their families with the world class benefits they have earned.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Each October, CISA’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month offers a focused opportunity to engage the public, businesses and other national and international organizations in learning essential cybersecurity tips and providing information, tools, public engagement opportunities and more for audiences at all levels. In 2022, Cybersecurity Awareness Month garnered more than 1,400 media mentions and included more than 120 CISA-wide speaking engagements—35 from CISA leadership—six regional trips, 111 social media posts with more than one million impressions, 7,300 downloads of the Partner Amplification Toolkit, and 108,000 page views of the 2022 landing page. Throughout the year, CISA encourages diversity in the current and future cyber workforce, expose young people to seek careers in cybersecurity, and bridge the current cyber gap with women in cybersecurity and tech through partnerships with groups like Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Who Code, and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). CISA also manages a Federal Cyber Defense Skilling Academy to help civilian federal employees develop cyber defense skills through training in the baseline knowledge, skills, and abilities of a Cyber Defense Analyst (CDA).
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD joined the Cyber Talent Initiative in July 2023 and partnered with the Partnership for Public Service to increase early career talent pipeline and recruitment effort. HUD’s Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO) is collaborating across all HUD Program Offices to get at least 50 placements in the next fiscal year. This initiative with enable participants a cybersecurity and information technology pathway into HUD by removing as many socio economic barriers as possible. Participants will be provided opportunities to gain federal employment and hands-on job experience in an immersive environment while learning HUD’s mission, operations, and culture.
craig newmark philanthropies
craig newmark philanthropies will provide an update on its $100 million commitment towards its Cyber Civil Defense Initiative. In 2023, it doubled its $50 million commitment to cybersecurity causes. It has also issued 11 grants totaling over $12 million to non-profit organizations with programs that are well-aligned to many of the workforce strategy’s key objectives, including cyber capacity building; applied learning opportunities; diversity, equity, and inclusion; digital literacy; and more. This builds on the $48+ million craig newmark philanthropies had already delivered to organizations focused on cybersecurity workforce development, education, tools, and services.
Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)
WiCyS is committed to mobilizing its network to underscore the importance of diverse and highly skilled cybersecurity professionals to support the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy through four commitments: 1) create cybersecurity career accessibility and opportunities for upskilling and reskilling underrepresented groups; 2) continue the WiCyS Security Training Scholarship program by working with a multi-organization approach to invest in the talent pipeline; and 3) mobilize U.S. regions through WiCyS’s 60 professional affiliates and 220 student chapters with increased opportunity via conferences, events, and hosted engagements; and 4) build a cybersecurity ecosystem through industry engagement. Through these commitments, WiCyS expects to reach over 10,000 individuals.
Cybersafe Foundation
Cybersafe Foundation will develop a cybersecurity ecosystem playbook specifically designed for the African continent based on the vision laid out in the National Cybersecurity Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy and the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy. The playbook will promote diversity and inclusion and include lessons learned and best practices that support cyber workforce development. Cybersafe intends to use it to create opportunities for women and girls to excel in the cybersecurity field.
SANS Institute
Over the last year, SANS and the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) expanded their partnership for CyberStart America and Cyber FastTrack, programs to inspire high school and college students across the United States to develop foundational cyber skills. In CyberStart, students utilize a transformative cyber education platform to solve challenges tied to real-world scenarios and build their core skills and knowledge, discovering a passion for cybersecurity in the process. For 2023-24, SANS and NCSF plan to engage over 50,000 students in gamified learning, with up to 5,000 receiving training and certification scholarships. Also, working with its non-profit, Government, and private sector partners, SANS plans to broaden, diversify, and strengthen the national cyber workforce through reskilling for career changers. These reskilling programs will provide over $9.2 million in training and certification scholarships to 500+ individuals, driving increased diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in cybersecurity across the nation.
Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) and the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI)
In August 2023, CRI and CCTI will launch the Phased Critical Infrastructure Pilot: Resiliency for Water Utilities, providing up to 200 small water utilities with basic cybersecurity training and promoting a culture of cyber readiness. Microsoft is sponsoring this initiative to help address the challenge of securing the nation’s water infrastructure from cyber threats. The pilot is based on the CRI’s Cyber Readiness Program, which is designed to assist small- and medium-sized businesses improve their cybersecurity risk management and their ability to respond and recover from a cybersecurity incident. CRI and CCTI will also use the initiative to create a better understanding of the level of cyber readiness across water utilities.
Girl Security
Girl Security will unveil a new portfolio called All Secure, which includes the first comprehensive national security curriculum designed for dual enrollment for high schools and community colleges. As part of All Secure, Girl Security also launched the Workforce Futures Alliance, which will join youth alongside industry leaders to design strategies and outputs to develop the security workforce talent to its fullest potential. Over the next three years, the organization will expand current programming and implement new programs designed to activate 1500 new mentees, 1200 workforce fellows, and 10 million US learners through a targeted engagement strategy with more than 20,000 dual-enrollment high schools and 935 community colleges nationwide.
Trellix
Trellix is committed to hiring 300 interns over the next two years. Trellix will also leverage career growth platform Gotara to advance the careers of 50 of Trellix’s high-performing women and is committed to offering roles to 12 employees via the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE).
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 325,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally. SHRM has committed to offering free cyber training content for HR professionals and aims to provide the training to at least 15,000 users, projecting that these users would lead to the hiring of up to 75,000 cyber professionals.
Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a self-styled “philanthropic investment firm,” composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. It has committed $5 million dollars to support and expand cybersecurity and open-source security ecosystems, including work to ensure the next generation is informed and activated to engage across these technologies.
NPower
NPower is a workforce development non-profit. The organization commits to embedding cyber skills across all of its courses, primarily reaching young adults and military-affiliated individuals. NPower’s curriculum routinely includes digital literacy to advance skills in cloud computing, cybersecurity, software development, and network infrastructure. NPower also commits to training over 6000 individuals during the next three years and offering multiple on- and off ramps to continued learning and fulltime employment, including through apprenticeships.
Task Force Movement (TFM)
TFM will be awarding cybersecurity scholarships to transitioning service members/Veterans and/or Military Spouses. TFM will fund 50 award recipients in the next year to pursue quality certification courses for career pathway entry in the cybersecurity ecosystem, with plans to expand the program in future years. TFM will also align the award recipients with employer partners who are committed to hiring the award recipients upon completion of the course.
Check Point Software Technologies
Check Point Software committed to training one million individuals in cybersecurity skills by 2028 through its MIND Cyber Security Training Program, which offers free training kits to all educational organizations in the United States. In addition, the MIND Cyber Security Training Program will include training for instructors and teachers through the SecureAcademy program.
Black Tech Street
Microsoft and Black Tech Street have announced an unprecedented long-term alliance for Historic Greenwood, the neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma given the moniker “Black Wall Street” by Booker T. Washington for its abundance of affluent Black entrepreneurs. Dubbed “The Digital Transformation of Black Wall Street to Black Tech Street,” this long-term
alliance aims to restore Greenwood’s position as a national hub for Black talent and innovation with an initial focus on Cyber.
MassBay Community College
MassBay Community college plans to announce an increase in the number of cybersecurity professors, allowing an expected increase in MassBay cybersecurity enrollment by more than 40 students, and strengthening its cybersecurity program through the addition of a cyber range. Learners (on an annual basis) will include 45 students from a consortium of colleges, 60 high school students, and 135 employees from businesses, municipalities, school systems, and non profit organizations from the Greater Boston region. NSF grant funding will assist the school in increasing the diversity of the cybersecurity workforce. The school is also applying for funding to build a Cybersecurity Center, to include the range, a Security Operations Center, and abundant space where college and high school students and employees from businesses, municipalities, school systems, and non-profit groups from the Greater Boston region can strengthen their cybersecurity skills.
Accenture & Immersive Labs
Accenture is a global professional services company committed to reducing traditional barriers to employment and finding ways to increase pathways into cybersecurity roles. Accenture and Immersive Labs are partnering to fill one million entry-level jobs in the next decade by providing a free, robust cybersecurity platform that not only trains participants but also engages them in reality-based exercises to prove their skills, which unlocks jobs with hiring organizations within the platform. Recognizing the need for all people to have cyber skills regardless of their roles, Accenture will provide cybersecurity training to more than 700,000 of Accenture’s people in the next year. Accenture has met its goal to fill 20% of entry-level roles from its apprenticeship program and is on track to achieve a gender-balanced workforce by its 2025 goal.
National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA)
NCA is kicking off the 2nd year of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Cybersecurity Career Program “See Yourself In Cyber.” “See Yourself In Cyber” aims to change the narrative around cybersecurity careers by showing students that there is a role in security for everyone and multiple pathways to a successful career. NCA is committed to raising awareness about cybersecurity careers and increasing opportunities for underrepresented students. In its first year, the program connected over 1,000 students with recruiters and professionals at on-campus events across nine schools, and 142 students have been paired with cybersecurity mentors. This
fall, NCA will hold events at five HBCUs in September and November. Each event will feature both public and private sector employers, guest speakers and recruiters, as well as local law enforcement departments to show students the variety of career paths offered in cyber as well as opportunities available in their own communities.
Aspen Institute’s Cybersecurity Program
The Aspen Institute’s Cybersecurity Program plans to make three commitments to coincide with the release of the strategy: 1) for cybersecurity education – Aspen will work with American University on a summary of openly availably government-issued cybersecurity resources; 2) for cybersecurity workforce development – Aspen plans to publish a guidebook on best practices for cybersecurity employee development and retention; and 3) for digital literacy – it will host the Aspen Cyber Summit in November in New York City and online to energize practitioners, students, and the public about cybersecurity issues, policy, opportunities, and more.
Dakota State University (DSU)
Dakota State University (DSU) in Sioux Falls, SD is enabling high school students in South Dakota to take as many as 30 credits of university-level computer science coursework as dual credit through the Governor’s Cyber Academy program. Given the rural population in South Dakota, the courses will be offered online and at high schools across the state to serve students at public, private, and tribal schools as well as those who are home-schooled. DSU anticipates 40 students will enroll in the Academy this fall, with the goal of 250 students annually by 2027. In addition, 83 South Dakota small businesses, including minority owned, veteran owned, rural and urban businesses, have enrolled in CyberSafe SD, a cybersecurity initiative sponsored by the U.S Small Business Administration designed to empower small businesses to safeguard against cyber threats. The businesses range from boutique single person businesses, to larger 300 employee businesses from sectors include manufacturing, healthcare, law, telecommunications, agriculture, education, entertainment, biotech, construction, retail, and tourism. Last, DSU is participating in CyberSkils2Work, which focuses on training military personnel and first responders in the domains of open-source intelligence and dark web investigations. The program has achieved remarkable success, surpassing projected enrollment by training over 300 learners to date, and plan to train 200 more participants this coming academic year. Its impact and effectiveness have been widely recognized, leading to securing additional funds to cater to the growing demand for such critical training.
Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF)
ITSMF aims to raise the number of Black CISOs by 10% by 2026 and increase the cybersecurity workforce pipeline by the same percentage. The impact of ITSMF’s efforts results in industry innovation, growth, and thought leadership through increased representation of talented Black professionals in cyber and risk management at senior levels.
Mastercard
Mastercard is doubling down on its long-standing efforts to build the cyber workforce and drive security for our shared digital ecosystem. Mastercard will align its cybersecurity roles to the NICE Career Navigation structure to simplify career growth and develop a robust skillset across many cybersecurity domains. To support its own talent development, Mastercard will also create upskilling pathways for junior professionals mapped to this same NICE structure by 2024.
Additionally, Mastercard will further its support of equipping American girls with foundational cyber skills through its commitment to educate 5 million students by 2025 with its flagship STEM education program, Girls4Tech™. Mastercard will also support access to free cybersecurity education, trainings, and resources for up to 10 million micro, small and medium businesses by 2025. The security of these businesses is critical and these resources, combined with our ongoing substantial investment, will help protect their ecosystem and our nation’s economy.
iKeepSafe
iKeepSafe will host online trainings for educators reaching 400 educators each month over the next year, utilizing the online training content found at no cost on the iKeepSafe website–Data Privacy in Education – an iKeepSafe Educator Training Course. This training will provide educators at all levels – teachers, administration, and support staff – with the necessary information to understand their role in helping to keep students and student data safe in an increasingly online learning environment.
Lightcast
Lightcast will provide quarterly data announcements on the size of the cyber talent needs, providing a more comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the cyber labor market. In addition, Lightcast will develop a skills-based hiring toolkit for employers to help companies implement skills-based hiring best practices in developing their cyber workforce. In addition, Lightcast is on track to get up to 900,000 unique users on the CyberSeek website this year.
The International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)²
(ISC)² achieved a significant milestone in its current pledge for one million individuals to receive (ISC)²’s new “Certified in Cybersecurity” certification. To date, over 265,000 people have enrolled and more than 27,000 individuals achieved this entry-level certification in less than 10 months.
Google
In collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, Google.org has committed more than $20 million to help thousands of students receive hands-on experience in cybersecurity. This funding will support the creation and expansion of cybersecurity clinics at 20 higher education institutions across the U.S., and follows the launch of the Google Cybersecurity Certificate focused on preparing people for entry-level jobs in cybersecurity. For cyber clinics across the country, Google.org commits to providing expert Googlers as volunteers to serve as student mentors in collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics and select universities. In addition to volunteers, the cyber clinics will receive access to the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, Google Titan security keys, and student mentorship opportunities from Google at no cost.
CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike will fill 300+ internship positions, fund ten $10,000 scholarships, expand upon its successful SkillBridge apprenticeship program, and continue to offer its “return-to-work” program focused on caregivers by Q1 2025. Crowdstrike is also committed to making training materials and resources more broadly accessible to help upskill users. Further, CrowdStrike
continues the development of a Next Generation Leaders Program initially announced at ONCD’s roundtable on “The State of Cybersecurity in the Black Community” earlier this year, with an anticipated launch during the Spring academic semester.
Microsoft
Microsoft is partnering with Last Mile Education Fund, Whatcom Community College, and the American Association of Community Colleges to achieve its 2021 goal of helping skill and recruit into the cybersecurity workforce 250,000 people by 2025. To date, this effort has supported over 379 community colleges in 48 out of 50 states (nearly a third of all community colleges in the United States). This includes $1,177,000 in direct scholarship support to 2,378 students; $93,000 in additional voucher assistance; 50 faculty supported through capacity building community of practice; 28 academic/workforce professionals trained; and support over 60 cybersecurity classes in the upcoming 2023-24 school year, with content from curriculum partners CYBER.ORG and CodeHS.
SAP
SAP – the world’s largest enterprise software provider – will further its commitment to help close the cybersecurity skills gap by expanding its Global Security Early Talent program. This two-year program is designed for high-performing early career professionals, with little to no professional experience, who have a basic understanding of information technology and security topics. This builds on SAP’s ambitious digital skills initiative goal to upskill two million learners worldwide with technology skills by the end of 2025.
ConSol USA
ConSol USA has innovated a demand-led, “ecosystem of ecosytems” model that engages under utilized talent (such as non-degreed, veterans, women, people of color) in underserved communities, in line with the imperatives of the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy. ConSol USA has executed initial agreements, and is negotiating with other organizations, reaching a range of academic stakeholders including the University of Texas at San Antonio, George Washington University, and the University of California at Davis. ConSol USA is also engaged with USAA to reach military, veterans and their families. Through these efforts, ConSol USA is committed to directly hire and deploy a minimum of 11,000 cyber technologists nationally by 2027.
American University
American University (AU) is committed to strengthening the cybersecurity workforce by continuing to expand access to hands-on cybersecurity training opportunities to all students, regardless of discipline. Through the newly launched Shahal M. Khan Institute for Cyber and Economic Security, and in collaboration with our global technology partner Cyber Range Solutions, AU is transforming cyber education by grounding technical cyber exercises in the context of national security and economic policy. In addition, AU announced its commitment to helping equip every American with foundational cyber skills.
Coordinated by the Office of the National Cyber Director, the Administration’s implementation of this Strategy is already underway.
– Published Courtesy of Homeland Security News Wire.
