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National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at NIST, CompTIA and Burning Glass Technologies will build on the success of the most comprehensive cybersecurity workforce analytics platform and career pathways planner

Washington, D.C. – The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, CompTIA and Burning Glass Technologies announced today a commitment to expand and enhance CyberSeek™ to tackle the increasingly critical problem of cybersecurity skills gaps and worker shortages.

The three organizations will continue their collaboration through 2022 as they enhance CyberSeek, the free resource on the nation’s cybersecurity workforce, job market, and career opportunities.

CyberSeek was launched in November 2016 through a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of NICE’s mission to promote and energize a robust system of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. NICE is a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector.

Originally developed to address a lack of supply and demand data in understanding America’s cybersecurity workforce, CyberSeek has evolved into one of the most respected sources of intelligence covering cybersecurity employment ratios, location quotients, skill needs, salary expectations, emerging job roles, and more.

“One of the roles played by NICE is to drive organizations toward the use of the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework that provides a common language for describing cybersecurity work,” said Rodney Petersen, NICE director. “CyberSeek plays an important role in bringing a data-driven, standardized approach to public and private sector cybersecurity workforce initiatives and encourages a shared understanding of the magnitude of the cybersecurity workforce challenge and opportunity.”

CyberSeek’s alignment to the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework ensures a common language for identifying cybersecurity work roles and skill requirements. This alignment carries over to CyberSeek’s career pathways planner, providing employers and learners with a handy guide for plotting career progression. 

Growing Impact of Cybersecurity Necessitates New Approaches

With the migration towards an increasingly digital and interconnected economy, the stakes have never been higher for cybersecurity. Gaps in skills and worker shortages contribute not only to short-term problems – preventable ransomware attacks, for example – but also carry long-term consequences, such as compromising innovation and productivity.

“Common approaches to cybersecurity operations, workforce development and recruitment and hiring continue to lag the pace of change brought on by rapid innovation and the adoption of new and emerging technologies,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “We’re investing extensive resources in areas such as performance-based training, adaptive competency assessments and advanced professional certifications to respond to this changing environment.”

What’s New: CyberSeek Expansion Plans

Enhancements are planned for two elements of CyberSeek: the cybersecurity job demand heat map and a career pathways visualization.

“Understanding the landscape of opportunity in cybersecurity careers, both in terms of where the jobs are and the pathways by which workers can enter and advance, is critical if the nation is to have the level of cybersecurity talent it needs for a secure future,” said Matthew Sigelman, CEO at Burning Glass Technologies. “With these enhancements, CyberSeek users will be able to retrieve even more information at the national, state and metro levels on the supply and demand for various types of cybersecurity jobs across sectors and the potential supply of qualified candidates to meet those demands. ”

To explore CyberSeek visit https://www.cyberseek.org

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About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. www.comptia.org

About Burning Glass Technologies
Burning Glass Technologies delivers job market analytics that empower employers, workers, and educators to make data-driven decisions. The company’s artificial intelligence technology analyzes hundreds of millions of job postings and real-life career transitions to provide insight into labor market patterns. This real-time strategic intelligence offers crucial insights, such as which jobs are most in demand, the specific skills employers need, and the career directions that offer the highest potential for workers. burning-glass.com.

Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
630-678-8468
sostrowski@comptia.org