The measure is the latest in a series of bills aiming to re-skill federal employees for high-demand occupations. Image: William Potter/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe House has passed HR-3208, to create a Cybersecurity On-the-Job Training Program in the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency aimed at retraining current DHS employees now in other roles to fill positions in that field.
“Training existing DHS personnel who have already been vetted is a critical part of ensuring DHS has the cybersecurity talent necessary to fulfill its critical cybersecurity mission,” said sponsor Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, adding that the department has persistent vacancies in such positions.
The curriculum would follow the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Framework and could involve distance learning, in-classroom learning, on-the-job instruction or other means. DHS would set criteria for participation in the program, including potential continuing service agreements, and would have to report annually on the results along with data on vacancies in cybersecurity jobs.
A report filed earlier on the bill notes that while the department already has an internal program for retraining current employees to become entry level cyber defense analysts, the bill would give DHS the “flexibility needed to expand and adapt the program to address the growing cyber workforce gap.”
The measure is the latest in a series of bills aiming to re-skill federal employees for high-demand occupations. The Trump administration operated a pilot program that involved retraining about 30 current employees in cybersecurity but that generally qualified them only for positions paying less than their current jobs and resulted in few placements.
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