Fortinet Announces Progress Toward its Mission to Tackle the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage
Fortinet, the global cybersecurity leader driving the
convergence of networking and security, announced significant progress in its
mission to address the cybersecurity skills shortage through its Training
Institute programs. As part of the company’s commitment to closing the cyber
workforce gap, Fortinet pledged to
train 1 million people in cybersecurity by the end of 2026 and through the
Fortinet Training Institute programs has achieved significant strides toward
this goal. With more than half a million people having been trained since the
5-year span pledge was announced, Fortinet is on track to meet this commitment
by the end of 2026.
As the cybersecurity
landscape grows increasingly complex, the demand for skilled professionals
continues to grow with an estimated 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals
required to address the industry’s workforce gap. At the same time, Fortinet’s 2024
Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report reveals that 70% of
organizations believe the shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals is
increasing risks to their security.
“ Through our longstanding investments to address the cyber talent
shortage, Fortinet continues to grow and expand our programs and strategic
partnerships by delivering an award-winning cybersecurity training
and certification program. Addressing the cyber skills gap is vital to
enhancing our society’s collective cyber resiliency and we are committed to
developing the current and future cyber workforce through the Fortinet Training
Institute. As part of this effort, we remain focused on our pledge to train 1 million
individuals in cyber by 2026,” said, John Maddison, Chief Marketing
Officer at Fortinet.
Fortinet is at the
forefront of working to address the skills gap by providing award-winning
training and certification curriculum designed to equip individuals with the
necessary skills and knowledge to better mitigate cyber risks. Additional
recent key initiatives and achievements include:
· Award-Winning
Cybersecurity Curriculum: Fortinet’s most recent industry acknowledgement
includes winning the 2024 SC Awards for Best Professional Certification
Program. In the fall of 2023, Fortinet introduced enhancements to the Fortinet
Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification program, providing multiple
certification options focused on role-based training – such as administrator,
analyst, architect – as well as a foundational certification level. Fortinet
has also been honored with Gold for best cybersecurity training and Gold for
best security awareness program from the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards; Gold
for cyber and education and training and security awareness and training from
the Globee 2024 Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards; and Most
Innovative in cybersecurity training and certification, and security awareness
and training service from the Global Infosec Awards, among others.
· European Commission’s
Cybersecurity Skills Academy Initiative Pledge: Earlier this year,
Fortinet pledged to offer its award-winning cybersecurity training and
security awareness curriculum to up to 75,000 individuals for free in Europe
over the next three years. Since joining this initiative, Fortinet is offering
its Certification program curriculum
through the Cybersecurity Skills Academy and expanding learning opportunities
for individuals across all 27 countries of the European Union, helping
develop critical cyber skills in the region.
· All-India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE) and EduSkills Foundation Partnership: Fortinet is
partnering with the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
and EduSkills Foundation to offer 100,000 virtual internships in the field
of cybersecurity across India, as well as providing our Certification program
free of cost.
· Fortinet Cyber
Bootcamps Help Develop the Future Cyber Workforce: Fortinet is
partnering with organizations across the world to host cybersecurity and
networking bootcamps to further increase access to its training curriculum.
Earlier this year, Fortinet hosted a threat hunting workshop for participants of the MITRE
Embedded Capture the Flag (eCTF) competition, which included students from
around the world. Attendees of the Fortinet workshop gained hands-on
cybersecurity experience, assuming the role of a security analyst to identify
adversarial behaviors using renowned frameworks and procedures.
· Continuing to Drive a
Diverse Cyber Workforce through Partnerships: Through the Education Outreach program and Veterans program, Fortinet cultivates
partnerships to drive a skilled, inclusive and diverse cyber workforce. More
recently, Fortinet partnered with the British Columbia Institute of Technology
(BCIT), Cyber Catalyst Talent Solutions, and Tech Vets Canada, among others, on
an in-person bootcamp specifically for veterans interested in gaining technical
and hands-on expertise in cyber. Fortinet also collaborated with several
Fortinet Veteran program and Education Outreach program partners earlier this
year – including Cerco, Helping Heroes, Hire Heroes USA, Onward 2 Opportunity,
TechVets, and VetSec – to offer a nine-week Networking Fundamentals Bootcamp
this year to further upskill and reskill veterans. Additionally, Fortinet is
continuing to partner with Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) to offer members a
Networking Fundamentals Bootcamp designed as an entry point for those wanting
to pursue a career in cybersecurity.
Building on Fortinet's Longstanding
Commitment to Close the Global Cyber Skills Gap
These initiatives
build on Fortinet’s longstanding commitment to address the cybersecurity skills
gap worldwide. The Fortinet Training Institute delivers training and
certifications to IT and security professionals, students and educators, and
underserved communities, through its various programs. The ecosystem supporting
these programs – including the Education Outreach program, the Veterans
program and the Academic Partner program – is comprised of more than 700
partners across more than 100 countries globally.
To further help advance
this work, Fortinet is a part of various public-private partnerships, including
participating in the White House’s National Cyber Workforce and Education
Strategy commitments by introducing free security awareness
training for primary and secondary school educators and students globally
including school districts across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
All these efforts contribute toward Fortinet’s goal to train 1 million people
globally in cyber by 2026.
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