Encouraging the next generation to join the cybersecurity workforce

By Gail Bamford, Brand Marketing Manager

In support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week, immixGroup and Arrow Electronics recently hosted two webinars: “Women in Cyber” and “Careers in Cybersecurity for Liberal Arts.” Each event featured a panel of technology leaders. These important discussions are a “must-see” for business professionals, education leadership, parents, students, and individuals seeking a career change.

The goal of the NIST NICE Cybersecurity Career Week is to bring awareness to careers in cyber. According to cyberseek.org, there are 464,420 unfilled cybersecurity positions in America. As cybercrime as well as the level of sophistication of attacks rises, so does the need to educate and raise up the next generation of cyber defenders. 

A recent survey on women in the field of cybersecurity revealed that men outnumber women three to one. However, the percentages of women in key cybersecurity leadership positions are increasing. The “Women in Cyber” webinar discussion featured a panel of cybersecurity leaders sharing their insights on the field of cybersecurity. 

The other webinar panel discussion, “Careers in Cybersecurity for Liberal Arts,” provides insight on the benefit of a liberal arts background and what opportunities are available in the field of cybersecurity. The webinar featured technology professionals with a liberal arts background that work for tech companies in marketing, sales and social impact.

Many thanks to NIST’s Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle for the opportunity to support Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week and our esteemed panelists represented by Palo Alto Networks, IBM, NETSCOUT, Citrix, Red Hat, Arrow Electronics and NetApp.

As those of us who serve the public sector know, cybersecurity is a big challenge and has been for many years. Government IT systems, as well as those belonging to government systems integrators, continue to be targets of malicious intent. And we are keenly aware of the challenges our customers have with recruiting and keeping cybersecurity talent.

We hope you will have the opportunity to view these two recorded webinars and share them with friends, students and family who may not have considered cybersecurity as a career.

View the “Women in Cybersecurity” webinar.

View the “Careers in cyber security for liberal arts” webinar.