Fortinet to train 1 million people to help close cyber skills gap

Fortinet has bolstered its commitment to address the cybersecurity skills gap by pledging to train 1 million people globally across the next five years through its Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) initiatives and Network Security Experts (NSE) Training Institute programs. Additionally, Fortinet’s TAA initiative includes a strong focus on attracting greater diversity through the NSE Security Academy Program, Education Outreach Program and Veterans Program as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.

The cyber skills shortage

The skills gap is a significant challenge for organisations of all sizes. According to an (ISC)2 report, in order to fill the cybersecurity skills gap worldwide, 3.12 million professionals are needed. This issue is compounded with the growing sophisticated threat landscape with a recent report from Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs finding that ransomware has increased ten-fold. As many organisations struggle to find talent to fill critical roles needed to help combat these threats, strained security teams are challenged to keep pace with the evolving threat landscape and face more security risks.  

The Biden Administration is calling on organisations across private and public sectors to assist in an initiative to reduce security risks by helping to develop more cybersecurity talent. For a number of years, Fortinet has been dedicated to closing the skills gap, with the establishment of its training programs and TAA initiative, including making all its NSE self-paced training courses available to anyone for free at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Fortinet will further build on this longstanding commitment with a pledge to train 1 million people in the next five years.

Fortinet answers call to combat cybersecurity challenges

Fortinet’s TAA and NSE Training Institute programs provide cybersecurity training and certifications, career growth resources and hiring opportunities to make a career in cyber attainable for all, including women, minorities, veterans and students.

Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at Fortinet said: “On the heels of the Biden Administration calling for cross-sector leaders to tackle the cybersecurity challenges affecting organisations and people globally, Fortinet is furthering its commitment to significantly reduce the cyber skills gap as part of this initiative. With the rise of sophisticated threats, organisations are more at risk than ever before. To further address these issues, Fortinet has announced additional outcomes we will strive to achieve as we grow our programs and strategic partnerships to address the talent shortage that plagues our industry, ultimately reducing security risks and threats.”