Page 119 - Cyber Defense eMagazine October 2023

Few organizations focus simultaneously on these two categories of people. Currently serving members
of the military, veterans and their spouses have worldwide experience and overcome hardships of all
kinds. Young adults from tough backgrounds and communities bond with their military connected
classmates. When in class together, it is important to develop teamwork and camaraderie under
conditions of shared hardship – hardship of the technical, people skills, and intellectual kind.

Form Strategic Alliances with Corporate America

Without partnerships, cyber security bootcamps are nearly impossible. Partnerships in this respect
means working with tech-ecosystem employers. This includes all levels of government as well as
corporations.

Helping CIO’s, CISO’s, HR professionals, and especially hiring managers and recruiters to think
differently is the main challenge. It may help to compare cybersecurity professionals in the same way
that we view electricians and journeymen. The apprenticeship model has been proven to work for
technology like it does for many other professions. Subsequently, a 4-year degree should not be a pre-
requisite for a tech or cybersecurity job, especially for an entry level IT or cyber position. Instead,
employers should focus more on industry recognized certifications. These better reflect the ability to
execute core competencies and mission essential tasks. If we want to fast track talent into hundreds of
thousands of open jobs, we cannot force each one to complete a 4-year degree. We need something
faster. Ideally this would be a Tech Accelerator program that starts with the basics – tech fundamentals
– and then addresses advanced subjects and certifications such as CompTIA Security + for cyber and
AWS Cloud Architect for cloud computing.

Leverage Leadership Skills

Having a clear vision while educating and inspiring people on this journey is perhaps the most important
recommendation. Leadership refers to the teaching and training function as well as to the job placement
function. Leaders who focus energy on recruiting talent from nontraditional pathways will be able to build
teams and secure their networks. Different geographic regions will have different priorities based on the
kinds of businesses and specific job descriptions that need to be filled.

A young woman who was underemployed at a fast-food restaurant landed a job testing video games. A
young army veteran, stuck working night shift as hospital security, found herself testing robots at Google
for twice her previous salary. An Afghan interpreter with English as his fourth language reports to work
at YouTube where for the first time in his life, he has medical benefits. An Army Master Sergeant retired
and landed a job as a civilian at the US Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Maryland. These are but a few
examples of success stories I love to share. None of them had a college degree, but that is not to say
they won’t get one in the future.

But in the meantime, the tech bootcamp experience got them where they are. Clearly they have much
to offer and some companies are realizing that nontraditional pathways are the best solution available to
avert a cybersecurity crisis today.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – October 2023 Edition 119
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