Education Outreach Program
Cultivating partnerships to drive a skilled, inclusive, and diverse cybersecurity workforce
The Need for Diversity and Inclusion in Cybersecurity
According to the 2021 (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, for the second year in a row there was a decrease in the global Cybersecurity Workforce Gap. The gap decreased from 3.12 million professionals needed in 2020 to 2.72 million in 2021.
The report notes, that even with the addition of 700,000 cybersecurity professionals into the workforce in 2021, there is still a large demand for more skilled talent across the world. The workforce gap continues to be a significant challenge for organizations of all sizes. In order to fill this need, organizations have to look for potential candidates in all populations and invest in talent education.
The Fortinet Education Outreach Program Aims to Reach All Populations
As part of the Fortinet Training Institute, the Education Outreach Program works with global leaders to drive change on pressing cybersecurity issues. Our partnerships extend to industry, academia, government, and nonprofits to ensure we are reaching all populations. By providing opportunities for training, certification, and connecting individuals with the Fortinet employer ecosystem, we're working to help close the cybersecurity skills gap.
Focus on Veterans
Through the Fortinet Veterans Program, we work with military and veteran non-profit organizations to connect with veterans and military families around the world. These non-profits are integral in our effort to help the military community to transition to careers in cybersecurity.
Focus on Women and Minorities
The growth of Fortinet’s Training Institute includes partnerships with organizations focused on women and minorities. According to the 2021 (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, women made up approximately 25% of the study cybersecurity workforce participants and an (ISC)2 minority cybersecurity study indicates minority representation within the cybersecurity profession is 26%.
Focus on Students
Through the Academic Partner Program, Fortinet supports almost 439 institutions in 94 different countries and territories. These academic institutions range from students in K-12 all the way to higher education and research institutions. Through the program, institutions are given access to Fortinet’s NSE Certification Program content to integrate into their own curriculum. They also receive exam vouchers to prepare students for a career in cybersecurity and help develop the next-generation of cybersecurity professionals.
Learn More About the Academic Partner Program
Raising Cyber Awareness in Young Children
Fortinet recently released a children’s book designed to further increase cyber awareness among children from 7 to 12 years old. The book Cyber Safe: A Dog’s Guide to Internet Security was co-authored by Renee Tarun, Deputy CISO at Fortinet.
Free Training for Everyone
To continue developing the world’s cyber workforce, Fortinet has made all of our advanced self-paced courses available free of charge. First introduced in early 2020, the free cybersecurity training courses include more than 30 self-paced, technical courses on critical topics ranging from Secure SD-WAN to Operational Technology to cloud security. To date, there have been more than 1,000,000 registrations for these free courses.
The training courses count toward the (ISC)² CPE Submitter Program and the NSE Certification Program, which is Fortinet’s eight-level certification that includes cybersecurity fundamental education courses (NSE 1-3), technical product training (NSE 4-6), advanced solution-based training (NSE 7), and the cybersecurity expert recognition (NSE 8).
Mehr erfahrenTraining in Local Languages / Respecting Language and Culture
Fortinet Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) provide a global network of training facilities that deliver expert-level training in local languages. Fortinet has 90+ ATCs worldwide and is continuing to expand the locations of the training center partners to further the reach of NSE training. Fortinet ATCs are currently teaching in more than 134 countries and territories and can deliver training and local cultural support in 26 different languages. Find an ATC
