Congress needs ‘private sector buy-in’ to address cyber workforce shortage – By Edward Graham (Nextgov) / June 23, 2023
Organizations are working to educate and train the next generation of professionals to fill critical cybersecurity vacancies, but private sector firms need to change their hiring practices to integrate this pool of talent into the workforce.
Private sector companies need to change their hiring and recruitment practices to effectively onboard the next-generation of cyber talent, including reassessing the skills and degrees that they believe are needed to successfully defend against cyber threats, witnesses told members of a House panel on Thursday.
The hearing, held by the House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, focused on efforts to grow the nation’s cyber talent pipeline — a critical necessity, given that a report released by a federal working group last year found that there were “more than 700,000 cyber jobs to fill nationwide and nearly 40,000 in the public sector as of April 2022.”
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., who chairs the subcommittee, noted in his opening remarks that the widespread cyber workforce challenges facing the nation “must be addressed through a strategic and cross-cutting approach that avoids duplication.
