Rosen, Blackburn Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Support & Expand Cybersecurity Apprenticeships

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced legislation to support and expand cybersecurity apprenticeships. The bipartisan Cyber Ready Workforce Act directs the Department of Labor to award grants in support of the creation, implementation, and expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity.

"As the cybersecurity industry grows and cyber threats become more common, we need to ensure we have the workforce with the training and skills necessary to fill jobs in this critical sector," said Senator Rosen. "This bipartisan legislation will help fill gaps in our cybersecurity workforce through a new grant program that will support Registered Apprenticeships and technical skills training in this field. It'll open the door to more good-paying, cutting-edge jobs for Nevadans and all Americans, including for those without a college degree."

"Strengthening our cyber workforce is imperative to the national security of our nation," said Senator Blackburn. "The Cyber Ready Workforce Act would expand apprenticeship programs to provide workers the skills they need to succeed and help ensure the United States remains a world leader in cybersecurity."

"Employers across the nation continue to need more cybersecurity professionals," said Jaime Cruz, Executive Director of Nevada Workforce Connections. "This legislation will help establish registered apprenticeship programs that support a more robust and sustainable pipeline of ready workers."

"Without access to coveted cybersecurity occupations, our national security infrastructure will weaken," said Myriam Sullivan, Interim Vice President of the Center for Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning at Jobs for the Future. "Cybersecurity occupations are ever-changing, and apprenticeship is the most agile mechanism for training professionals in competencies and skills that are required to counter the active threats US companies and government face everyday."

"ISACA strongly supports the introduction of the Cyber Ready Workforce Act. The program recognizes the value of proven cyber skills development programs that utilize both knowledge and applied education," said Julia Kanouse, Chief Membership Officer at ISACA. "These programs help bring job-ready professionals to great careers in cybersecurity. Investing in continued growth of the cyber profession is important as cybersecurity continues to see shortfalls in staffing necessary to keep pace with the threat environment and massive investments from adversaries. We thank Senator Rosen and Senator Blackburn for their responsiveness to this national priority."

The cybersecurity field has a severe shortage in talent, with nearly 500,000 current job openings in the U.S. and over 4,300 openings in Nevada alone, according to CyberSeek, an interactive cybersecurity jobs heat map funded by the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). As the first and only computer programmer to serve in the U.S. Senate, Senator Rosen has led efforts in Congress to bolster our nation's cybersecurity education and workforce development. Her Providing Resources for Ongoing Training and Education in Cyber Technologies (PROTECT) Act was passed into law as part of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act, establishing the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program to help schools across the country educate students on cybersecurity. Last Congress, she introduced the Teacher Education for Computer Science Act (Teach CS) Act to support teacher training and schools in educating students on computer science.

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