Press Releases

Competitions ready college and high school students for careers in cybersecurity

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, announced today it has renewed its sponsorship support for the National Cyber League (NCL) in its ongoing campaign to promote education, skills and careers in cybersecurity.

NCL, powered by its partner Cyber Skyline, Inc., is a biannual competition that allows students to test and build their skills by taking on the same challenges that cybersecurity professionals face each day. More than 13,000 students representing over 650 colleges and high schools across the U.S. participate in the NCL’s fall and spring seasons. Registration is open through October 8 for NCL’s Fall 2021 season for both individual players and teams.

“The hands-on challenges students face in the NCL competitions are an ideal training ground because they mirror real-world cybersecurity challenges,” said CompTIA spokesperson. “We’re pleased to team up with NCL and Cyber Skyline as we continue our collaborative efforts to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”

Career opportunities in cybersecurity occupations are strong and growing. There were more than 464,000 online job listings for cybersecurity-related positions across the country between April 2020 through March 2021, according to CyberSeek, the leading source for data on supply and demand in the cybersecurity job market.

“Cyber Skyline, along with our entire NCL community of coaches and players, is focused on accelerating learning for students of all ages struggling to enter cybersecurity careers,” said Franz Payer, CEO of Cyber Skyline. “In a sea of choices, it’s important to give students guidance that helps them achieve their goals. NCL augments students’ knowledge through practical understanding of what they learned in the classroom. The alignment of NCL categories to CompTIA certifications further spotlights clear pathways from classroom to career.”

CompTIA and Cyber Skyline are collaborating on several fronts to support the NCL’s Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 seasons, including developing an instructional guide and a series of webinars for instructors and students on how to apply the NCL competition challenges to prepare for CompTIA certification exams. Cyber Skyline and CompTIA have mapped the nine NCL categories to CompTIA certifications, as well as to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Work Roles, in a downloadable document to help recruiters hire based on clearly identifiable skill areas.

NCL coaches and faculty who join the CompTIA Instructor Network will have access to free “train the trainer” sessions on CompTIA certifications and curriculum. If their academic institution is a member of the CompTIA Academy Partner Program, they are eligible to receive complimentary test vouchers for CompTIA certification exams.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 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. https://www.comptia.org/

About the National Cyber League
Founded in 2011 by an alliance of public agencies dedicated to developing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, the NCL is a nonprofit cybersecurity competition that measures the ability of students to perform real-world cybersecurity tasks. Powered by industry-leading cybersecurity skills evaluation technology from Cyber Skyline, the competition has students identify hackers from forensic data, break into simulated bank websites, recover from ransomware attacks, and more. https://nationalcyberleague.org/

About Cyber Skyline
Founded in 2014, Cyber Skyline is a leading cloud-based cybersecurity skills evaluation platform helping students & professionals track their skills growth and helping businesses find, identify, and cultivate talent. Cyber Skyline operates the NCL competition. https://cyberskyline.com/

Media Contact
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
sostrowski@comptia.org
+1 630-678-8468