Fortinet to train one million people globally - helping close the cybersecurity skills gap

Fortinet has pledged to train one million people to help close the cybersecurity skills gap following the White House summit.

Fortinet has strengthened its commitment to address the cybersecurity skills gap by pledging to train one million people globally across the next five years. It aims to do this through its Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) initiatives and Network Security Experts (NSE) Training Institute programs.

The company'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.

"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," says Fortinet founder, CEO and chairman of the board, Ken Xie.

"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."

The skills gap is a significant challenge for organisations of all sizes. According to an (ISC)² report, to fill the cybersecurity skills gap worldwide, 3.12 million professionals are needed. Fortinet says the issue is compounded with the growing sophisticated threat landscape. A recent report from Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs found ransomware has increased ten-fold.

As many organisations struggle 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.

For several years, Fortinet says it's been focused on 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. With its pledge to train one million people in the next five years, Fortinet says it will further build on this longstanding commitment.

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

Below are key highlights contributing to Fortinet's work thus far:

• Cultivating partnerships with business leaders and the public sector.
• Momentum with the NSE Certification program.
• Building a cyber-aware workforce with the Information Security Awareness and Training Service.
• Developing operational technology skills through training and career pathways.