Cybersecurity Education & Career Development

Increase and Strengthen the Future Cybersecurity Workforce

A professor teaching cybersecurity in a computer lab to a diverse group of students.

In both private industry and the government, cybersecurity professionals are critical to the security of individuals and the nation. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is committed to strengthening the nation's cybersecurity workforce through standardizing roles and helping to ensure we have well-trained cybersecurity workers today, as well as a strong pipeline of future cybersecurity leaders for tomorrow.

Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP)

About CETAP

Starting with the country's youngest students, the Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP), focuses on growing and educating the next generation of the cyber-literate workforce, CISA has partnered with not-for-profits, elementary, middle, and high schools, universities, and state school boards across the country to help incorporate cybersecurity concepts into classrooms.

CISA is committed to providing wide-ranging opportunities for quality cybersecurity education and training. It is now more urgent than ever to identify and prepare qualified individuals to enter the cybersecurity workforce and, in doing so, support efforts to enhance cybersecurity infrastructure resilience. Through CETAP initiatives, educators are equipped with an extensive library of cybersecurity educational tools, from foundational content to hands-on classroom technology, to facilitate learning and growth within the K-12 community.

CETAP follows a train-the-trainer model, providing cybersecurity educational curricula, educator professional development, and classroom technology. To help build the cybersecurity workforce of the future, CETAP curricula focuses on three priorities:

Create cybersecurity awareness
Expand cyber career understanding
Teach cybersecurity skills

CETAP also extends beyond the school year through summer camp programs that provide hands-on cybersecurity learning activities to middle-school and high-school students. CETAP offers additional resources, such as Cyber Safety Videos, Cyber Career Cards, and camps and competitions.

CETAP Recipients

Since 2012, CISA has partnered with CYBER.ORG and their affiliated programs to ensure every K-12 student gains the foundational and technical cybersecurity knowledge and skills to pursue cybersecurity careers in greater numbers. In 2023, CISA awarded Cyber.org $6.8 million in funding, which will be used to empower educators and caregivers with the resources and training needed to deliver cybersecurity content to students.

CYBER.ORG

CYBER.ORG, a cybersecurity workforce development organization, enables K-12 educators and students to build cybersecurity educational foundations, cyber literacy, cyber career awareness and technical cybersecurity skills.

Project REACH

REACH connects K-12 schools to HBCU cybersecurity and computer science programs to close the diversity gap in cybersecurity. Cyber.org facilitates these relationships through cybersecurity activities, classroom support, campus visits and more.

Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Training for Underserved Communities Program (CWD)

About CWD

CISA’s Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Training for Underserved Communities (CWD) program addresses the cyber workforce shortage through outreach to and hands-on training for potential cyber staff of all ages. By utilizing cooperative agreements with community-based, non-profit organizations, the program helps individuals develop their cyber skills through entry-level training and apprenticeship programs.

Since the program focuses on aptitude of the individuals rather than their educational background, CISA is helping to support workforce development across unemployed, underemployed, and traditionally underserved communities, including veterans, military spouses, women, and people of color.

The program supports innovative training and recruitment of cyber professionals, in an effort to increase diversity across the cyber workforce. This provides different perspectives, which can enable cyber professionals to tackle cyber issues from new angles and can help achieve many of the goals of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Executive Order.

The Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Training for Underserved Communities (CWD) program aims to:

Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy that establishes lanes to develop and retain cybersecurity professionals
Decrease the cybersecurity workforce shortage by placing graduates into entry-level roles
Deliver entry-level cybersecurity training to prospective talent from nontraditional places
Provide hands-on and professional development experience through apprenticeships

CWD Recipients

CISA has awarded funding valued at $5 million to four non-profits: Per Scholas, South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation, CyberWarrior, and NPower. By utilizing cooperative agreements with community-based, non-profit organizations such as the four program recipients listed below, CISA is increasing diversity across the cyber workforce. 

Per Scholas

Current Grantee (FY24-FY26). Per Scholas connects skilled talent to employment to build a more diverse workforce across America, especially in Newark, New Jersey, Chicago, New York City, and St. Louis. 

South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation (SMRCDC)

Current Grantee (FY24-FY26). With over 20 years of experience working with underserved communities, SMRCDC increases and supports educational, training, and employment services along the Mississippi Delta River region.

CyberWarrior

Former Grantee (FY22-FY24). CyberWarrior increases opportunity and economic mobility for people through training, mentorship and technology. The academy delivers hands-on, lab-driven technical training in cybersecurity methods and procedures.

NPower

Former Grantee (FY22-FY24). NPower is a nonprofit that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry. It seeks to create pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults.

Collaborative Efforts

CISA strives to maximize access for underrepresented communities in cyber and establish alliances that strengthen the agency’s ability to reach the national cyber talent pool. As a result, CISA has collaborated with various partners to ensure cybersecurity awareness and accessibility are delivered to all communities.

CyberSkills2Work Program

The CyberSkills2Work program, part of the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity, is an intensive online cybersecurity training program focused on critical infrastructure security and industrial control systems security. It is designed to help individuals launch or advance cybersecurity careers, with an emphasis on federal, state, and local government personnel, transitioning military, veterans, women, and underrepresented minorities. The program ensures that qualified professionals will increase cybersecurity efforts surrounding vulnerable systems, manage pertinent risks, and work to protect national infrastructure. Hands-on experiences develop skills surrounding best practices using realistic scenarios, allowing participants to earn industry-recognized certifications and professional credentials that further their cybersecurity careers. The acquisition of these foundational skills and more expert-level knowledge enables program attendees to enter or progress within the cybersecurity workforce, filling workforce gaps to promote resilience of critical cybersecurity systems.

National Centers of Academic Excellence Program

As strengthening the cybersecurity workforce becomes a greater priority, the nation is increasingly looking to higher education to produce skilled and qualified cybersecurity professionals able to defend national networks and infrastructure. In response, CISA and the National Security Agency (NSA) jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program, designating specific two- and four-year colleges and universities as top schools in Cyber Defense (CD). Schools are designated based on their robust degree programs and close alignment to specific cybersecurity-related knowledge units (KUs), validated by top subject matter experts in the field. CAE graduates help protect national security information systems, commercial networks, and critical information infrastructure in the private and public sectors.

CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service Program

To encourage students to enter cybersecurity degree programs, CISA co-sponsors the CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, providing scholarships for bachelors, masters, and graduate degree programs focusing on cybersecurity, in return for service in federal, state, local, or tribal governments upon graduation. The scholarship assists in funding the typical costs incurred by full-time students while attending a participating institution, including tuition and education and related fees. The scholarships are funded through grants awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with CISA and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

CISA's Cyber Career Pathway Tool Micro Challenges on Try Cyber

CISA offers new micro-challenges that are now part of the Cyber Careers Pathway Tool, located on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS™) website. For K-12 students and individuals looking to reskill or transition from a non-cyber career, CISA’s micro-challenges provide a chance to experience the knowledge, skills, and tasks enacted in the top cybersecurity workforce roles. The fourteen hands-on experiences allow users, independently or via instruction, to complete core cybersecurity workforce tasks, while discovering the knowledge and proficiencies necessary to complete the tasks. The content is intended to assist users in understanding the scope and scale of cybersecurity careers, help decipher some of the core tasks for the workforce roles and enables all users to envision themselves in the cybersecurity workforce.

Advancing the Cybersecurity Profession

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework) is the foundation which increases the size and capability of the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. It is a national resource that categorizes, organizes, and describes cybersecurity work. The NICE Framework provides educators, students, employers, employees, training providers, and policy makers with a system for organizing the way we think and talk about cybersecurity work, and what is required of the cybersecurity workforce.

Additionally, CISA's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) website serves as a national resource for cybersecurity awareness, education, training, and career opportunities. NICCS makes training information available through a robust, searchable catalog which allows users to find cyber training programs based on location, preferred delivery method, specialty area, or proficiency level. NICCS supports CISA's objective to grow the cyber workforce by providing information about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and cyber-related degree programs, internship and scholarship opportunities, and cyber competitions and events.

Cybersecurity and Education Resources for Grades K-12

K-5 Resources

Even our youngest citizens need to be cyber aware! Luckily, CISA has the following resources to help keep your children and family safe online, and to show them how they can help others when they get older by working in the world of cybersecurity.

6-8 Resources

CISA is here to help with cybersecurity resources that meet your middle schooler where they are, such as the digital social and gaming spaces that can expose students to danger, making them vulnerable to cyber threats.

9-12 Resources

Students face many choices about their future in high school. For young adults considering a career in cybersecurity, CISA offers high-level resources to guide them through opportunities, including information about grants and scholarships.

Cyber Career Pathways Tool

This Tool will help you identify, build, and navigate a potential career path in cyber. Users from various backgrounds and age groups can use the tool to better understand the cyber workforce, different types of cyber work roles, and their relationship to one another.

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