Over the next three years, BCTC will recruit teachers, counselors and peer mentors in an effort to create a larger and more diverse cybersecurity workforce in central Kentucky to address local demand, according to a news release.
“Receiving this grant will enable BCTC to provide essential support for both recruiting students interested in STEM fields and meeting the needs of our community partners,” BCTC President and CEO Greg Feeney said in a public statement. “We are committed to collaborating with our regional technical workforce stakeholders to expand access to a larger and more diverse cybersecurity workforce in central Kentucky, helping to address local demand.”
Kentucky is not alone in its demand for skilled technical workers. An international report from cybersecurity membership organization ISC2 last November analyzed the cybersecurity workforce found that, while the field is growing, the need for cybersecurity professionals is growing faster. ISC2 found that in 2023, America’s cybersecurity workforce grew 11 percent, representing roughly 1.3 million cyber professionals, but the cybersecurity workforce gap grew 17.6 percent. This means that the workforce gap, which was already large, grew by about 480,000 positions last year.
The cybersecurity industry also lacks diversity but is improving with younger generations. The same report found women made up about 24 percent of cybersecurity professionals younger than 30, and only 15 percent of those 60 and up. Among those under 30 years old of any gender, 63 percent were not white.
According to the news release, BCTC will use grant funds to better reach a diverse student population by providing mentorship and education at five local schools to 240 students who are female or from underrepresented backgrounds. The school will also hire a part-time retention and recruitment specialist to enroll more college students from diverse backgrounds.
Other plans for the funding include a near-peer mentoring program between more experienced cybersecurity students and first-year students, recruiting and training 20 middle and high school teachers and counselors on cybersecurity and evaluating learning outcomes over the three-year grant period.
The changes will affect the Associate of Applied Science in Computer and Information Technologies degree program, which offers coursework and certifications in tech fields like geospatial technologies, video game design and informatics. That degree program was the basis for BCTC’s renewed designation by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. The award is given to higher education institutions based on their standards for cybersecurity curriculum and academic excellence, community outreach and leadership in professional development, cybersecurity practices across the institution, and work to address obstacles facing cybersecurity education.
