Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Training for Underserved Communities

Description

The nature of the cybersecurity threat to America is growing, and our nation’s cyberadversaries move with speed and stealth. In alignment with the Department of Homeland Security’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2020-2024, it is imperative to not only secure cyberspace and critical infrastructure, but we must also strengthen our preparedness and resilience, including ensuring that we have a skilled workforce to defend our networks. We therefore must ensure equal access to professional development opportunities to fill cyber vacancies across our country and to prevent future shortages that threaten our ability to compete. Maintaining a highly skilled, diverse, and engaged workforce is critical to ensuring the public and private sectors can protect the nation’s cyberspace and support the accomplishment of the Department’s mission, which relies on dedicated personnel who go above and beyond to keep Americans safe from harm. However, per cyberseek.org, there were over 755,000 cybersecurity job openings nationwide in 2022 – a shortage that puts our nation at a dangerous technological disadvantage and an increased risk of malicious cyber activity. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Cyber Defense Education & Training (CDET) team is committed to strengthening the nation’s federal and national cybersecurity workforce through standardizing roles and helping to ensure we have well-trained cybersecurity professionals today as well as a strong pipeline of future cybersecurity leaders tomorrow.Strengthening our cybersecurity workforce requires diverse perspectives from communities that represent America. Increasing the number of cybersecurity professionals within underserved communities is key to the success of our nation. These professionals are critical in both private industry and the government for the security of the nation.Furthermore, the retention of individuals with these skills is an important element in the development of our Nation’s cybersecurity workforce. As the nation responds to ongoing rapid technological changes and advances, the non-traditional workforce system plays an essential part in providing a skilled workforce to fill critical shortages. Non-traditional technical training providers (NTTPs) are entities that actively provide cybersecurity training, internships, apprenticeships, and/or other work-based learning approaches to meet the dynamic needs the cybersecurity workplace. To remain competitive, our nation will need to reimagine how it educates and trains entry-level cyber professionals.CDET seeks to award a cooperative agreement titled “Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Training for Underserved Communities” in fiscal year 2023. The activities contemplated in this agreement advance CISA’s mission as defined in authorities within the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, specifically as it relates to providing shared situational awareness to enable real-time, integrated, and operational actions across the Federal Government and non-Federal entities to address cybersecurity risks and incidents. The activities contemplated in the agreement broadly support the Department of Homeland Security mission to safeguard the American people, through establishing a qualified cadre of cybersecurity professionals. Additionally, this agreement directly aligns to the CISA’s Strategic Plan 2023-2024; by providing federal funding to NTTPs to develop and execute cybersecurity training and assist trainees in securing internships, apprenticeships, and/or employment to support the dynamic needs of the cybersecurity workplace. The NTTPs efforts must be directed primarily to members of underserved1 communities as an opportunity to pursue a career that may otherwise be unfamiliar or unattainable. This cooperative agreement seeks to fund applicants to develop and execute a scalable program that can respond to the nation’s cyber eco-system challenges.This cooperative agreement also seeks to leverage the unrealized cybersecurity talent of underserved communities through established or emerging NTTPs that create or enhance existing entry-level training and apprenticeship and programs. Additionally, to optimize and expand existing cybersecurity training and placement programs, the development and implementation of a comprehensive cybersecurity pathways retention strategy to address enrollment-to-placement engagement, is needed. Applicants will work collaboratively to align resources in response to workforce demand and to offer innovative job training solutions that generate positive outcomes and results.Eligible NTTPs applying for this cooperative agreement must be nonprofit organizations who have demonstrated experience developing and implementing a cybersecurity training curriculum aligned with the work roles outlined in the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework). Eligible participants of the NTTP’s cybersecurity training and placement program must be at least 17 years old and, more specifically, individuals who belong to underserved communities such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality that have been denied opportunities to receive cyber-related education and who are seeking full-time employment into entry-level skilled cybersecurity positions.

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