On July 19, National Cyber Director Chris Inglis hosted the National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit at the White House. The event focused on “improving skills-based pathways to cyber jobs, educating Americans” and finding solutions for bridging the cyber workforce gap. (ISC)² CEO Clar Rosso attended the summit and introduced the new (ISC)² initiative to pledge one million Certified in Cybersecurity as our global commitment to close the workforce gap and expand diversity in cyber.
Attendees of the summit included government officials such as Ambassador Susan E. Rice, White House Domestic Policy Advisor; Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo; Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh and Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Jen Easterly. Other attendees included executives from the private sector and respected thought leaders in the industry.
During the summit, several other initiatives and programs were announced at the summit to address the workforce gap.
Inglis committed to developing a National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy that will address the challenges and opportunities in critical areas to improve collaboration across government-wide efforts to help align resources and implement the Administration’s priorities on education and workforce development
Raimondo and Walsh announced a 120-day Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint aimed at providing individuals with the opportunities to receive training and mentorship necessary to begin a career in cyber by expanding and promoting cyber-related Registered Apprenticeship programs.
The Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies, aimed at developing a unique mix of geopolitical focus and technical rigor with cutting edge research at the intersection of cybersecurity and statecraft, has been established to train postgraduate students to become future policymakers and practitioners for leading firms and government agencies in the field of cybersecurity. They will also offer an executive training program to help provide critical knowledge of cyber issues.
Auburn University’s Ginn College of Engineering has committed to incorporating the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Strategy throughout its engineering and computer science programs.
Cisco is committing to training an additional 200,000 students in the U.S. over the next three years and will continue to increase the reach and impact of its efforts.
CompTIA, in partnership with ConnectWise, will run a nationwide pilot program to fill critical cybersecurity roles for managed services providers. CompTIA, will use its training and certifications to provide jobseekers the skills needed for a career in IT and help employers realize the benefits of IT apprenticeship.
Fortinet has committed to making their information security awareness and training service available for free for all K-12 school districts across the U.S. The expansion of its free training offerings provides the potential to help more than 8 million staff and faculty members in U.S. schools become more cyber aware and improve their skillsets to avoid breaches at educational institutions. This initiative will also advance Fortinet’s pledge to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by 2026.
Girls Who Code will develop a coding challenge and activity sets focused on cybersecurity that will be geared toward middle and high school students and implement workshops for Computer Science Education Week focused on cybersecurity and introductions to cryptography this fall.
NPower will offer skill development opportunities and free IT training and credentials to military-connected individuals as well as young adults from underserved and underrepresented communities.
These are just a few of the initiatives introduced at the summit. The summit also included several roundtable discussions to address ensuring all Americans are equipped with the necessary skills to navigate the “global digital ecosystem” and increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility throughout the cybersecurity profession.
To learn more about the initiatives and programs introduced at the summit or about the summit in general, read the White House Fact Sheet. You can also listen to the keynote address of the summit here.