Biden Administration Announces National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy
The Biden Administration has unveiled its National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) which seeks to address the current cyber workforce shortages and prepare the country for a cyber future. The NCWES was developed by the Office of the National Cyber Director in collaboration with 34 agencies, departments, and EOP components and lays out a comprehensive approach for addressing immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs while ensuring all Americans have the cybersecurity skills they need to participate in the digital ecosystem. The aim of the strategy is to empower all Americans looking to participate in the digital ecosystem, including communities that are currently underrepresented in the cyber workforce, and to promote and develop pathways for well-paying and fulfilling cyber careers. Under the strategy, the Biden Administration and its partners will leverage adaptable ecosystems to effect change at scale, enable the lifelong development of cyber skills, and grow and enhance the cyber workforce through diversity and inclusion.
“The plan is the product of over a year of work, including a National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit at the White House in July 2022,” said Camille Stewart Gloster, deputy national cyber director of technology. “The strategy is truly reflective of that collective effort and is the first step to securing and unleashing the next generation of American innovation.”
At present, there are an estimated 400,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the United States and the lack of cyber skills is affecting the ability of the government and the private sector to build defenses resilient to increasingly numerous and sophisticated cyberattacks. No one actor is able to achieve the necessary changes at scale so all stakeholders – educators, industry, government, and more – must execute on all of the objectives detailed in the NCWES for it to be a success.
The NCWES is based on four pillars:
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- To equip all Americans with foundational cyber skills to enable everyone to attain the full benefits of our interconnected society.
- To transform cyber education to address immediate cyber workforce needs and prepare to meet the future needs of a dynamic, technological environment.
- To expand and enhance the National Cyber Workforce by adopting a skills-based approach to recruitment and development and by improving access to cyber jobs for all Americans, including underserved and underrepresented groups.
- To strengthen the Federal Cyber Workforce by communicating the benefits of careers in public service to job seekers and current employees, improving career pathways, and lowering the barriers to hiring and onboarding.
Overview of the National Cyber Security and Education Strategy.
The strategy calls for a shift in responsibility for defending cyberspace from individuals and small businesses to the most capable actors, and that requires cybersecurity to be built into education and workforce development programs relevant to sustaining the digital environment. It is also necessary to have incentives across both the public and private sectors that favor long-term investment in security.
While there is an immediate need for highly skilled individuals, it is necessary to build from the ground up. All Americans should have foundational skills that allow them to efficiently and confidently use computers and the Internet to ensure that they are qualified to pursue well-paid, fulfilling cyber jobs. Currently, one-third of U.S. workers lack digital skills, yet 92% of jobs across all industries require digital skills. Demand is currently outstripping supply and the skills shortage must be addressed to ensure U.S. economic competitiveness in the global economy.
The strategy sets out an approach for enabling the lifelong development of cyber skills, starting with foundational cyber skills such as digital literacy, computational literacy, and digital resilience, to ensure that all Americans have the skills to work efficiently, effectively, safely, and securely. To address the cyber workforce shortfall, it is necessary to draw on the full diversity of the American talent pool, and that requires improvements in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in cybersecurity. One of the easiest ways to achieve rapid gains is to attract people of all ages into cybersecurity, especially people from underrepresented communities such as women, veterans, military spouses, people of color, first-generation professionals, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals, Tribal nations, and members of rural communities. Many cyber jobs do not require a four-year degree, instead, there are alternatives that allow individuals to obtain the necessary digital skills that will allow them to join the cyber workforce.
Many stakeholders, including educators, industry, and government, have demonstrated their commitment to the strategy. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has committed to investing more than $24 million in CyberCorps Scholarships for Service (SFS) awards over the next four years to support the development of a robust and resilient cybersecurity workforce. The National Security Agency (NSA) National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity will release four grants to support a pilot initiative to develop four new Cyber Clinics at colleges and universities in Nevada, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Virginia. The Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) has committed to greater diversity among its internship applicants to increase recruitment and outreach to underrepresented communities, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will award up to $3,600,000 for Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) cybersecurity education and workforce development projects.
