New cyber hiring sprint aims to address workforce gap

Ongoing gaps in the U.S. cybersecurity workforce that have left nearly half a million jobs unfilled have prompted the Office of the National Cyber Director to introduce the new Service for America cyber hiring sprint that would link jobseekers to cyber jobs within the next two months, The Register reports.

Numerous career events tackling the federal job application process and National Institute of Standards and Technology-led cyber career workshops, as well as events aimed at addressing cyber employment in the private sector, will be held until the end of October as part of the program, which is conducted by the ONCD in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, according to National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. “Our Nation has a critical need for cyber talent. Today, there are approximately 500,000 open cyber jobs in the United States and that number is only going to grow as more services and products go online with the expansion of technologies like artificial intelligence,” said Coker.