Creating Cybersecurity Opportunities Through Training And Partnerships

The cybersecurity skills gap has become an even more critical issue for many organizations as security risks and opportunities for threat actors continue to grow as security teams become more short-staffed and strained. Through the NSE Training Institute programs and its Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), Fortinet is continuing to make significant progress toward closing the cyber skills gap.

For the first time since the establishment of the NSE Training Institute in 2015, the industry saw a decrease in the number of security professionals required to fill the gap in 2020, with a decrease from 4.07 million professionals needed to 3.12 million professionals according to an (ISC)2 report. This progress demonstrates success towards solving the issue, however, the gap is still a significant challenge for organizations of all sizes.

Reducing the Skills Gap through Training and Partnerships

By increasing the access of training, developing cybersecurity career pathways and connecting individuals to employers, the NSE Training Institute is making big strides in advancing TAA efforts. The NSE Training Institute continues to grow globally, serving IT and security professionals and underrepresented populations. The following are some of the ways Fortinet is doing this.

• Partnerships with organizations to bring untapped talent into cyber: The growth of Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute includes partnerships with organizations focused on women and minorities. These partnerships bring untapped candidates into the cyber workforce by providing them with opportunities for training, certifications and connecting them with the Fortinet employer ecosystem.
• Working with academic institutions to reach students: Through the Security Academy Program, Fortinet supports more than 350 institutions in more than 85 different countries and territories. These academic institutions range from students in K-12 to higher education.
• Free NSE courses reach more than 1,000,000 registrations: Recently, Fortinet announced the extension of all its advanced self-paced courses available for free to continue developing the world’s cyber workforce. These courses were first introduced in early 2020 and offer more than 30 technical courses on critical topics ranging from Secure SD-WAN to cloud security. There have been more than 1,000,000 registrations for these free courses to date spotlighting the demand and need for this kind of training.
• Raising cyber awareness in children: Fortinet recently released a children’s book designed to further increase cyber awareness amongst children ranging from 7 to 12 years old. The book “ Cyber Safe: A Dog’s Guide to Internet Security ” was co-authored by Renee Tarun, Deputy CISO at Fortinet.
• Delivering expert training via Authorized Training Centers: Fortinet Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) provide a global network of training facilities that deliver expert-level training in local languages. Fortinet has more than 80 ATCs worldwide and is continuing to expand the locations of the training center partners to further the reach of NSE training. Fortinet’s ATCs are currently teaching in 72 countries and territories and can deliver training and local cultural support in 22 different languages.

Conclusion

Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) leverages the offerings of various programs to extend the global impact of Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute and close the cyber skills gap. Through global partnerships, free training, and career opportunities, new talent can prosper in the cybersecurity sector and extend new perspectives and skillsets to the field. The efforts of the TAA will build a diverse, equitable and inclusive pipeline of security professionals that will aid in closing the skills gap.

Learn more about Fortinet’s Network Security Expert (NSE) Training Institute , including its free cybersecurity training initiative , the NSE Certification Program , Security Academy Program and Veterans Program.