Building and Enhancing U.S. Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Strategic Initiatives: Advancing National Infrastructure, Capability, & Capacity White Paper

ATARC Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Working Group | August 2024 

 

Cybersecurity workforce development and education has a variety of challenges, problems, obstacles, and structural limitations to overcome. In this white paper, a series of key recommendations are mapped out to structure a replicable cybersecurity education and workforce development pipeline and pathway strategy for utilization across the U.S.
Based on these key cybersecurity workforce development and education capability and capacity issues, this report is organized into the
following sections:

 

– Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Education (WDE) Challenges, Problems, Barriers, Obstacles, and Limitations
– A Framework for Hardening Campus Information Security & Networks; Campus Critical Infrastructure Protection & Digital Awareness Programs
– Cybersecurity K-12 Education
– The Traditional (Academic) Pathway Model- Cybersecurity Higher Education/Training Programs, Degrees, Certificates, Curriculum, and Standards
– The Non-Traditional (Experiential) Pathway Model- Building and Enhancing U.S. Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Infrastructure, Capabilities, &
Capacity Through Professional Skills/Competency Development, Pre-Apprenticeships, Registered Apprenticeships, Internships, Cyber-competitions, Hackathons, and related
– Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility (DEIA)- Supporting Special Populations
– Cybersecurity Workforce Preparation- The Value of Industry Recognized Professional Certifications
– Cybersecurity Workforce Preparation- The Value of On the Job Training
– AI Risks and Opportunities