The tactical approach seeks to empower every American to participate in the digital ecosystem and emphasizes the urgent need to fill the vast number of vacant cyber jobs.
The tactical approach seeks to empower every American to participate in the digital ecosystem and emphasizes the urgent need to fill the vast number of vacant cyber jobs.
The Biden-Harris Administration has announced the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, a tactical approach aimed at addressing the immediate and long-term needs of the nation’s cyber workforce.
With hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies across the country, filling these positions has become a critical national security imperative, and the administration is making substantial investments to prepare America to lead in the digital economy, according to a press release.
The NCWES seeks to empower every American to participate in the digital ecosystem and emphasizes the urgent need to fill the vast number of vacant cyber jobs.
The strategy complements the administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen middle-class working families through initiatives such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
By releasing the NCWES, the administration aims to create high-paying, middle-class jobs for the American workforce.
One of the main focuses of the NCWES is to encourage participation from communities currently underrepresented in the cyber workforce.
Many individuals may not be aware of the tremendous opportunities available in this critical and growing field.
The strategy aims to empower Americans to pursue careers in cybersecurity, many of which are attainable with certificates or community college degrees, making them accessible in local communities across the nation.
The NCWES follows the President’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, which envisions a digital future based on skills, ensuring that workers have access to well-paying, middle-class cyber jobs in their own communities.
Additionally, the strategy emphasizes continuous upskilling for educators and diverse workforce expansion for employers.
To create a comprehensive approach, the NCWES was developed in collaboration with private industry, academia, non-profits, government partners, and other non-governmental stakeholder groups.
The NCWES underscores the importance of collective action, emphasizing that no single entity can bring about the necessary changes at scale.
Therefore, all stakeholders, including educators, industry representatives, government, and others, must work together to execute the objectives outlined in the strategy.
Together, with its partners, the Biden-Harris Administration commits to leveraging adaptable ecosystems to drive change at scale by supporting and expanding local ecosystems for cyber education and workforce development.
They also aim to enable the lifelong development of cyber skills, ensuring that all Americans possess foundational cyber skills for daily life, industry-specific or occupation-specific cyber skills for various sectors, and specialized cyber skills for those already in the cyber workforce. Furthermore, they seek to grow and enhance the cyber workforce by improving diversity and inclusion, recognizing the strategic advantage of a diverse workforce and its potential to develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.
The NCWES aims to foster collaboration around four key pillars, including equipping every American with foundational cyber skills, transforming cyber education, expanding and enhancing the National Cyber Workforce, and strengthening the Federal Cyber Workforce.
Meanwhile, several stakeholders, including educators, industry representatives, and government officials, have also already demonstrated their commitment to the NCWES through actions and partnerships.
