The Biden-Harris administration participated in a regional cyber workforce summit focused on expanding access to good-paying, middle-class jobs for all Nevadans at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving Institution.
According to the White House, there are currently over 6,000 open cyber jobs across Nevada – 4,085 of which are based in the Las Vegas metro area alone.
During the summit, multiple organizations – alongside the Biden administration – announced significant commitments addressing the national security imperative to grow the cyber workforce in Nevada.
This work builds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is delivering historic cyber investments in the state. For example, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates $56 million in resilience and $2.4 million for the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program to address cybersecurity risks to information systems in Nevada.
In association with the summit, the White House announced nine partner-commitments relating to implementation of its brand new National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES).
UNLV has received funding from the Federal government for cybersecurity education, enabling it to bring on fifty students per year as paid interns at its Free Cyber Clinic.
CYBER.ORG will support the NCWES by focusing on K-12 cybersecurity education as the foundation for building success. In the next 5 years, CYBER.ORG has committed to develop 1,300 cybersecurity lessons, activities, competitions, games, and career resources; engage with 50,000 educators and caregivers to provide cybersecurity content to teach students; among other activities.
Fortinet announced its new Security Awareness Curriculum for K-12 students to help close the cyber skills gap and develop the cyber aware workforce of the future. This initiative will be available at no cost to school districts and systems across the United States beginning in the fall.
HP is increasing its free Future of Work Academy (FOWA) for Community and Technical Colleges to nearly 100 institutions and over 500 students from across the country, including community colleges in Nevada.
Five other organizations – Western Governors University, BattleBots, Druvstar, the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation, and ThriveDX – also made commitments to improve cybersecurity education throughout the country.
The Biden-Harris administration unveiled its long-awaited NCWES in July, promising to increase the number of Americans in “good-paying, middle-class” cyber jobs.
Unleashing America’s Cyber Talent is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive approach aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs.
“The Office of the National Cyber Director [ONCD] will collaborate with the private and public sectors to realize the Biden-Harris administration’s vision to ensure cyberspace reflects our values: national security; economic security and prosperity; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; trust in our democracy and democratic institutions; and an equitable and inclusive society,” Acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden wrote in the strategy. “Strengthening our cyber workforce and equipping every American to realize the benefits of cyberspace is a whole-of-nation endeavor.”
