The number of cybersecurity attacks continues to increase yearly, as does the number of unfilled jobs in the field. Reports indicate there are as many as 3.4 million open cybersecurity positions worldwide, with more than 700,000 open jobs in the U.S. alone.
A number of companies are trying to solve this shortage, including Accenture, which announced today the launch of its Cyber Million program in partnership with Immersive Labs, a cybersecurity company. The initiative is an effort to “solve the global deficit of skilled cybersecurity people,” says Robert Boyce, global cyber resilience lead at Accenture, the global Fortune 500 technology and consulting company.
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The goal of the new program is to fill 1 million entry-level cybersecurity jobs during the next decade. The upskilling platform developed by Immersive Labs includes online courses and exercises that train participants for jobs recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) that include cyber defense analysis roles. Participants also have access to job postings from partner companies, including Accenture. The program is free to all participants.
“Expensive certification programs can be a barrier to entry for many otherwise passionate and capable people,” James Hadley, CEO and founder at Immersive Labs, tells Fortune. “Our cost-free, skill-first approach will remove unnecessary barriers.”
Hadley says the program provides an additional pathway to entry-level jobs in cybersecurity, which can pay starting salaries of as much as $80,000.
“We need to play our part to provide new entry points to cyber careers through building skills and helping fill the open roles gap globally,” Boyce adds. “Traditionally, cyber careers have relied on STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] programs for talent, but we want to expand cyber careers to those with more diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We know people without a STEM background or degree can make excellent cybersecurity professionals.”
What the program covers
Participants have two paths to choose from on the Cyber Million platform: a Cyber Fundamentals Collection, which includes introductory courses in cybersecurity, and a Defense Security Operations Collection that includes exercises for participants to learn and demonstrate the cybersecurity skills they’ve developed. Both collections were developed by Immersive Labs and the skills taught in the programs are aligned with jobs internationally recognized by NIST and NICE.
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Completing the program prepares participants for roles such as cybersecurity operations analyst, information security operations analyst, security monitoring analyst, cyber operations analyst,security operations center (SOC) analyst, security operations center analyst, IT security operations analyst, and network security operations analyst. Hadley says these jobs tend to have starting salaries of $50,000 to $80,000. Some students who earn a master’s degree in cybersecurity, however, can make as much as $200,000, according to previous Fortune reporting.
The Cyber Million program operates on an exercise-based model, rather than theory-based understanding, which Hadley says is different from other cybersecurity certification programs. The Defensive Security Operations Collection includes 127 hands-on exercises that take about 36 hours total to complete. Exercises are available on an on-demand basis.
After the program
Accenture is the first partner for the Cyber Million program, but the goal is to have more companies post job openings on the platform to help the program grow and fill the cybersecurity talent shortage, Boyce tells Fortune.
Accenture will post relevant cybersecurity job openings to the Cyber Million platform that relate to the learning paths participants will complete. The company declined to answer how many cybersecurity jobs they plan to fill from the platform and these postings will also be available through its global hiring website. Anyone over the age of 16 can participate in the program.
“Together, we are encouraging companies to post their job openings on the platform to help the program grow and fill the talent shortage,” Boyce says.
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