At the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative America meeting yesterday, Symantec announced the launch of Symantec Cyber Career Connection, a program focused on closing the cyber security workforce gap by providing students with virtual mentorships, training, and cyber security internships. Symantec says it will assist program graduates in obtaining jobs through the use of its networks.
According to a press release from Symantec: “An estimated 300,000 cybersecurity jobs are vacant in the United States; among those, 60,000 could be filled by individuals without a four-year college degree.”
Those numbers are expected to increase with time along with the number of cyber security threats.
“The youth unemployment levels between the ages of 18 and 24 are double the national average,” Aled Miles, Senior Vice President of Symantec, said in a video released by the company. “Women and minorities are also underrepresented in the cyber security field. It’s time to bridge that gap, change the world, by building the skills to protect the future.”
Symantec and the Symantec Foundation will be partnering with non-profits including Year Up, NPower and LifeJourney. Jay Banfield, Executive Director of Year Up Bay Area, said in the video, “We’re very excited to partner with Symantec to create an innovative new program that will introduce young people to new career opportunities in cyber security.”
The pilot program will launch in the cities of San Jose, Baltimore and New York. The company hopes in the future the program will grow to international levels.
“We’re committed to making it possible to enjoy this wonderful online world whilst helping to resolve this profound social issue of underemployment,” Miles concluded in the video.
The full release and video are available here.
[ photo courtesy of Symantec ]
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