U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Feb. 3 offered bipartisan, bicameral legislation aimed at ramping up America’s cybersecurity workforce.
“Strengthening our cyber workforce will bolster our ability to safeguard American interests at home and abroad,” said Sen. Blackburn.
“We must ensure that both public and private sectors are supplied with the skilled workforce they need to address modern cybersecurity challenges,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said on Feb. 4.
The cybersecurity field currently has nearly 600,000 job openings in the United States, according to CyberSeek, an interactive cybersecurity jobs heat map funded by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.
To help fill those jobs, Rep. Fitzpatrick cosponsored the Cyber Ready Workforce Act, H.R. 6588, alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) to establish a U.S. Department of Labor grant program to fund the creation, implementation and expansion of registered cybersecurity apprenticeship programs. Sen. Blackburn cosponsored companion legislation, S. 3570, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) in her chamber.
If enacted, the bill would establish a competitive grants program for eligible workforce intermediaries, including businesses, community-based organizations, workforce development boards, education institutions, and nonprofits, that would then create, implement and expand registered cybersecurity apprenticeship programs, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Grant funds could be used to develop the curriculum and technical instruction and to provide support services to apprentices, including career counseling, mentorship, and assistance with transportation, housing, and childcare costs, the summary says.
“The growing cybersecurity workforce shortage has left our nation’s cyberinfrastructure vulnerable to cyber attacks, posing a direct threat to our economy and national security,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “Our bipartisan legislation will help close the cybersecurity workforce gap by offering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals an opportunity to gain technical, in-demand skills for high paying jobs, without taking on burdensome student loan debt.”
“The United States must be the leader in cybersecurity,” Sen. Blackburn added. “The bipartisan Cyber Ready Workforce Act achieves this goal by expanding registered apprenticeship programs and providing workers the skills needed to succeed in the cybersecurity field.”
ISACA and Jobs for the Future endorsed the measure.