Cybersecurity Workforce: Bridging the Gap in Appalachian Ohio (Cyber-Workforce)

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With the increasing threat of cyber-attacks and the need to protect sensitive data and information, companies rely on cybersecurity technicians to safeguard their operations and to ensure business continuity. The goal of this project is to increase the number of skilled cybersecurity technicians across Zane State's three-county Ohio service area while responding to economic challenges faced by disadvantaged communities in Appalachian Ohio. In collaboration with regional industry partners, high schools, four-year colleges and universities, and community organizations, Zane State will realign its existing cybersecurity curriculum with the NICE Cybersecurity Framework and create four certificate programs. Certificate tracks will be offered in stackable credentials to prepare participants for entry level jobs while offering more narrowly focused certificates designed for rapid workforce entry. The resulting program will offer four curriculum tracks: Cyber Security, Cyber Management, Cyber Analytics, and Cyber Networking. Cybersecurity content will include penetration testing, project management, IoT, open-source programming, compliance, incident response and disaster recovery, and digital forensics. Project activities include the development and implementation of a cybersecurity curriculum, outreach to high school students and teachers, and the establishment of robust cyber learning communities designed to support nontraditional students, traditional high school students and faculty, and two-year college students and faculty. The project's primary audiences are two-year IHE faculty and students, rural project participants, veterans, and high school students and teachers. Project evaluation will include formative and summative inquiries that will provide feedback to inform continuous improvement. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.