The United States Department of Labor has launched a campaign to raise awareness about cybersecurity apprenticeships. The dangerous lack of expertise in cybersecurity will be addressed head-on by this initiative.
All of this was discussed at length during the National Cyber Workforce and Education summit that was hosted by the White House on Tuesday.
This summit also discussed the most recent cybersecurity concerns. There, the Biden-Harris administration revealed their strategies to address the shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals.
New cybersecurity expertise can be promoted in a few different direct ways by the administration. Nevertheless, education will be the primary method, which is why there are cybersecurity apprenticeships.
The White House has made public its intention to prioritize education at all levels, beginning with elementary school and continuing through college.
Because of this, the government will be able to expand programs in various fields related to cybersecurity.
This action will also make it possible to educate new junior levels of cybersecurity experts. As a result, these people will eventually mature into the necessary roles.
In Light of the Scarcity of Cybersecurity Professionals
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, there has been a gradual but steady increase in the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals.
However, the shift didn’t start until the lockdowns were implemented. Companies have come to the realization that the new economy requires them to have talented cybersecurity professionals.
The global economy has been hit with a loss of approximately $6.0 trillion in 2021 due to cyberattacks.
In addition, it is anticipated that this figure will rise to $10.5 trillion by the year 2025.
Comparatively, the global cybercrime industry would be the third largest global economy if it were a standalone country, just behind China and the United States.
In many respects, the problem of cybercrime has become more significant than the problem of major crimes.
Because of this, all major businesses must take precautions to avoid being victims of cybercrime. And this is also applicable to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.
Cybercriminals look for and exploit weaknesses in computer security. As a consequence of this, having a robust talent pool for cybersecurity is essential. If you don’t do that, you can’t safeguard your company.
Some businesses, like IBM, have already begun the process of looking for new ways to attract qualified employees.
In addition, there have been more than 120 new cybersecurity apprenticeship programs established in the year 2021. When compared to the year 2020, this represents a rise of 28%.
Practice is by far the best teacher when it comes to mastering skills in the field of cybersecurity.
You will learn the general strategies and security procedures if you continue your education.
In addition to that, it will highlight the currently available solutions. However, these specifics become out of date very quickly. The solutions will no longer be applicable by the time the student receives their diploma.
For this reason, cybersecurity apprenticeships are beneficial to the education of new experts.
Here, those who will go on to become experts become familiar with practical applications. And without a doubt, they research the overarching, theoretical solutions.
Students are allowed to learn from seasoned professionals through these apprenticeships.
Students are going to put some of the information that they have learned from the very beginning to use.
Because of this, they have the opportunity to gain a general understanding of the complexities of cybersecurity.
They will also gain an understanding of the particulars of the sector that they would be tasked with protecting.
During a hearing held in May by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), it was determined that various industries, such as the healthcare industry, are being subjected to a significant amount of attacks by cybercriminals.
In point of fact, cybercriminals are carrying out these assaults by exploiting well-known vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, the providers of healthcare do not have the experts necessary to protect themselves against these exploits.
Retail, oil and gas, and distribution are just some of the industries that are being negatively impacted by the same problems.
And this has become more prevalent as a result of an increased number of companies moving their sales operations online.
In circumstances like these, experts will require knowledge of the various approaches that can be taken. It will not be sufficient to have a general understanding of cybersecurity.
When they earn their journeyman’s title, the vast majority of the 42,260 currently active apprentices will find employment.
Even though businesses are competing to hire senior-level experts, hiring a novice is preferable to having no security at all.
The United States Department of Labor and Commerce, as well as the administration of former Vice President Joe Biden, think that a greater emphasis on training new cybersecurity specialists will lead to an increase in employment opportunities in the United States.
According to Moody’s Investor Service, the policies of the administration were responsible for the creation of more than 4 million jobs in 2017. And this is despite the current state of the economy.
However, very few of those jobs are in the technological or informational services sectors. The primary focus is on retail and production in the immediate area.
The shift in focus toward a specialized IT niche is not a departure from these policies; rather, it is an extension of them. Gina M. Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce for the United States of America, characterized it as an extension. Tuesday’s summit was also under Raimondo’s leadership.
Putting more emphasis on discovering new carrier pathways is unlikely to immediately resolve the issue.
The expansion of the demand for specialists is continuing to outpace the supply. However, the industries that are at risk ought to be capable of securing positions that will prevent losses in the upcoming years.
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Gina M. Raimondo, who was in charge of the summit, provided an explanation as to how this action will work by the Build Back Better platform.
The United States federal government and other major stakeholders are currently working to develop new cybersecurity expertise.
On their own, however, cybersecurity apprenticeships will not solve the problem with cybersecurity.
The most important thing is to get your head around the idea that cybercrime as a phenomenon does not have any answers. Rather, we need to remain current with the latest developments in attack vectors and angles.
In the new economy, all workers and business owners must be aware of the potential dangers.
Additionally, they must devise measures to protect not only their own data but also the data of their business partners, customers, and consumers.
