The new National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) announced by the Biden administration aims to address both immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs.

The main pillars of the initiative are to:

• Equip every American with foundational cyber skills – Enable everyone to enjoy the full benefits of our interconnected society.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

In terms of collaboration, several agencies have announced their commitment to NCWES efforts. For example:

• The NSF will invest $24 million in CyberCorps Scholarship for Service awards over the next four years.
• NIST will award up to $3.6 million for Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) cybersecurity education and workforce development projects.
• The VA announced a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program for Veterans: a two-year developmental program to provide hands-on learning and development experience for cybersecurity apprentices.
• SANS and the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) have expanded their partnership for CyberStart America and Cyber FastTrack programs to inspire high school and college students across the United States to develop foundational cyber skills.

“Filling the hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies across our nation is a national security imperative,” the fact sheet states.