On July 31st, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES), a first-of-its-kind comprehensive approach aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs. Focused on filling the hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies.
As of February 2023, there were 755,743 cybersecurity job openings in the United States. The state with the highest number of job openings was California with 81,584 open positions in cybersecurity related fields
In a survey published by STATISTA, on March 2023, the majority of the respondents stated that their company found it the most difficult to hire individuals for cloud security positions in 2023. Other cybersecurity jobs that were considered hard to fill worldwide were related to security operations, network security, software development security, and risk management.
Being the most demanded IT roles , for 2023, back-end and full stack developers. DevOps ranked fifth in terms of job demand for 2023.
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.
To learn more about the strategy visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/31/fact-sheet-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-announces-national-cyber-workforce-and-education-strategy-unleashing-americas-cyber-talent/
