Today was an exciting day for Symantec, and a first for the company on multiple fronts. Standing alongside former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Symantec Senior Vice President Aled Miles launched our signature Corporate Responsibility program - the Symantec Cyber Career Connection (SC3)—at the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in Denver.
"This has been a priority for us because six years after the financial crash, many young people are still struggling. In fact, one of the most terrifying statistics is that nearly six million young Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are out of school and out of work, and for those who don't get a college education or even high school, most doors just won't open no matter how hard they knock," said Secretary Clinton. "We want to get to work and it's one of the highest priorities for CGI America and I'm delighted that there is so much interest because ultimately it's about more than pay checks."
As a cybersecurity leader, Symantec is proud to play a key role in addressing the global cybersecurity workforce gap, providing training and identifying new career opportunities for underserved young adults who may not be college-bound. Through SC3, Symantec and a network of partners—including the nonprofits Year Up and NPower, as well as online career simulation company LifeJourney—will train young adults with the skills needed to get them on track for high-demand, long-term careers in the field of cybersecurity. A pilot of this program will start in August in New York City, Baltimore, and the San Francisco Bay area.
Bridging the workforce gap in cybersecurity
In a world of increased cybersecurity attacks, an estimated 300,000 cybersecurity jobs are vacant in the U.S.; among those, 60,000 could be filled by individuals without a four-year college degree. With the demand for cybersecurity professionals expected to continue to increase, Symantec is in a unique position not only to develop this pathway, but to leverage and strengthen the key components that already exist from other organizations addressing similar challenges. SC3 will package existing curricula (from Symantec, nonprofit partners, and major skills certifiers) to clearly define the sequence of skills and certifications that lead to a job, ensuring our participants are adequately trained before entering the workforce.
By bringing this unique program to high potential, yet underserved young adults, we have an opportunity to help improve their lives and career paths, while narrowing the cybersecurity hiring gap.
Developing a cutting-edge, first-of-its-kind program
Creating a multi-stage program intended to help increase the number and caliber of graduates in cyber careers requires the support of many people and organizations. Over the course of 12 months, we worked with a variety of expert stakeholders including FSG Social Impact Consultants, a steering committee made up of senior executives from a broad array of key Symantec functions (ranging from Government Affairs to Human Resources to our CTO), as well as feedback from interviews with 36 internal and 31 external stakeholders. SC3 is designed to:
- Raise awareness and recruit underserved populations into long-term cybersecurity careers.
- Offer an industry-recognized training program—implemented through a network of partners—that prepares underserved populations for in-demand certifications.
- Following the training, partners will place students in cybersecurity internships to teach and develop needed on-the-job skills. Students have the opportunity to learn countless roles from being a support technician to being a network defense technician.
- Training partners will connect program graduates to cybersecurity positions through Symantec’s network of customers and partners.
The program will also include specialized tracks developed by Symantec in cybersecurity as well as virtual mentorship from industry leaders.
“We’re excited to partner on a program that so closely aligns with Year Up’s mission to enable low-income young adults to move from poverty to professional careers,” said Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up. “We’ve known that cybersecurity is one of the main subjects that our students are interested in, and as an authority on cybersecurity, Symantec is an ideal partner. This program will open the door for so many young adults to the lucrative cybersecurity field.”
Symantec and the Symantec Foundation made an initial investment of $2 million in the Symantec Cyber Career Connection and will provide the curriculum and products to implement the program. While this is a pilot program, it’s expected to expand globally over the years and I look forward to experiencing the benefits this program brings to our workforce, Symantec, and the broader industry.
Cecily Joseph is Symantec’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Chief Diversity Officer.