Efforts to develop a cybersecurity workforce from the inside out are well underway at the Georgia Cyber Center, where an orientation for WorkForces’ participants took place Sept. 23.
The program is aimed at veterans or military spouses who are underemployed or unemployed. They’re encouraged to apply for this free-of-charge program designed to give them the skills and certifications they need to land jobs with cybersecurity and advanced computer skills in the list of requirements.
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“They have transition programs available when you’re getting out, but this was more my speed,” said Devin McCollough, a participant in the program who just left the military. “Cyber is the future. This is where the future is going.”
The program was made possible in part by $8.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor H-1B One Workforce Grant Program paid to the Augusta Economic Development Authority in February 2021.
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“We applied in September of 2020, and it was approved in January 2021, along with about 20 other recipients across the country,” said Cal Wray, president of the Augusta Economic Development Authority. “One of the constant challenges in economic development is the workforce associated with the employers you’re looking to bring to the market. This grant is just one more avenue to put the right skillsets within the market for both the companies and their employees to be successful.”
Wray said the first classes are meant to “get everything right” as the program continues to grow. He said the plan is to add more industry partners to the program that participants can apprentice with and eventually train hundreds of people.
The first phase of the program has the cohort immersed in reskill or upskill programs dependent on their prior experience in the field of cybersecurity. There will also be career readiness workshops that provide participants with interview and resume-crafting skills.
The next phase is designed to fit members of the cohort into work-based learning opportunities. Based on experience and employer needs, participants are paired with Georgia Cyber Center private industry partners to hone their skills and prepare them for employment.
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Tom Clark, executive director of the Alliance for Fort Gordon, told the cohort at the orientation that the goal of the program was to recruit, train and maintain a homegrown crop of cybersecurity workers to fill a huge number of available jobs in the cybersecurity industry.
Eric Toler, executive director of the Georgia Cyber Center, said the center is the largest investment in cyber of any state, with $108 million going toward the complex.
“The Georgia Cyber Center is the only place that houses all three of government operations, academia and private industry partners under one roof,” Toler said. “We have reps from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense and Cyber Crimes here on a daily basis.”
“You are not guaranteed a job at the end of this program, but you are guaranteed to have the tools and certifications to help create opportunities for yourself,” Toler continued.
Cheney Thomasson Eldridge of the AEDA wanted to reiterate that point – the goal is to educate and prepare as much as possible, but job offers won’t be doled out to every member of the program at the end.
Charlotte Bryant became unemployed due to the pandemic. Her husband is a veteran and encouraged her to apply for the program.
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“I heard about it and my husband said, ‘You’ve got to go for this,’ and I did,” Bryant said. “I was unemployed due to COVID-19, so this was something that could increase my skills with computers. It was of both professional and personal interest to me.”
Classes for the first-ever cohort took place in June, and the second cohort began classes last week and will continue for several weeks.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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