- San Diego County has three times the cyber jobs compared to other counties of its size, with nearly 9,000 openings from June 2019 to May 2020
- The San Diego Workforce Partnership’s CyberHire San Diego: Cyber Security Talent Initiative to help more than 180 San Diegans secure jobs in cyber security sectors by 2023
- CyberHire supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation
The San Diego Workforce Partnership’s life-changing programs and workforce development services continue to be a key component for workforce solutions in San Diego County. We dedicate our efforts to provide struggling San Diegans with the tools, resources, education and access to mentorship to secure quality jobs and launch meaningful careers.
The Workforce Parntership received a two-year grant of $1.5 million from The James Irvine Foundation to fund CyberHire San Diego—a movement that aims to increase the number of unemployed, underemployed and low-wage workers in quality cybersecurity careers. CyberHire will help San Diegans launch a meaningful cyber career that will help them support themselves, their families and our shared community.
“CyberHire San Diego leverages the Workforce Partnership’s position at the nexus of business, education and workers to connect the local cybersecurity industry with training providers,” says Donald J. Howard, President and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation. “This is creating pathways to meaningful careers in a growing sector in San Diego and nationwide. The program strongly aligns with our Better Careers initiative, which seeks to connect low-income Californians to good jobs with family-sustaining wages and advancement opportunities.”
Enrollment for the program is expected to begin in the fall with the grant in place through 2023. The $1.5 million grant will fund industry certification exam fees, intensive certification test preparation for participants and Workforce Partnership staff for the areas of program management and oversight of direct service delivery to job seeker customers in the target audience.
San Diego County is one of the nation’s leading hubs for military and commercial cybersecurity employers, innovation and talent. According to CyberSeek, the U.S. has a total employed cybersecurity workforce of nearly 925,000 people and there are currently almost 510,000 unfilled positions. CyberSeek estimates San Diego has three times the cyber jobs expected in a county of its size, with nearly 9,000 openings from June 2019 to May 2020.
CyberHire San Diego is designed to help meet the growing demand for cybersecurity workers and help unemployed, underemployed and low-wage San Diego workers secure a quality job and launch a meaningful cybersecurity career amid the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.
“We are extremely grateful to The James Irvine Foundation for its generous grant that will help the Workforce Partnership connect San Diegans to quality job opportunities in one of our region’s fastest growing sectors,” says Peter Callstrom, Workforce Partnership CEO. “With so many cybersecurity jobs in the region and high unemployment due to COVID-19, it is imperative that all people in our communities have equal access to tools, resources, education and job opportunities to help them launch meaningful careers and provide for their families.”
People interested in the program can sign up here to receive program updates and be notified when applications open.