The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this week announced $3.6 million in grants to help address the cybersecurity skills shortage.
As part of the project, 18 education and community organizations across 15 states will be granted roughly $200,000 each to educate future cybersecurity employees.
The agreements will be overseen by NICE, a partnership between organizations in the government, education, and private sectors, which focuses on building cybersecurity workforce through education and training.
The 18 selected organizations will build Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) cybersecurity education and workforce development projects aligned with the needs of local business and nonprofit organizations.
According to NIST, Benedict College (South Carolina), CyberUp (Greater St. Louis), Energy Sector Security Consortium Inc. (Oregon and Southwest Washington), Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, Kaua‘i Economic Development Board (Hawai‘i), NPower Inc. (New York), RTriad Enterprises Inc. (North Carolina), Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education, The University of South Florida Board of Trustees, and Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu (Nevada) will receive $200,000 each.
Nevada System of Higher Education, Bowling Green State University (Ohio), Digital Promise Global (Alabama), George Mason University (Virginia), San Diego Workforce Partnership, Texas Tech University, and WeReach (Massachusetts), will receive roughly $199,000 each, while Cyber Bytes Foundation (Virginia) will receive $189,000.
“Our economic and national security depend on a highly skilled workforce capable of defending against ever-increasing cyber threats. By investing in our cybersecurity workforce, we are not just filling a critical gap. We are creating a future where Americans have access to the training they need to secure high-quality, good-paying jobs,” NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio said.
In March, NIST announced it was opening 15 other RAMPS grants of up to $200,000 each. Interested entities can apply until May 24, 2024.
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