Fortinet Participates in White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit

Fortinet will be attending the White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit on July 19^th to participate in important discussions around collaborative and forward-looking ways to help address the skills gap affecting the cybersecurity industry.

According to the news release from the White House, the Summit and participants will focus on opportunities to: “raise the bar on cybersecurity through greater awareness, education, and training. The Summit will also serve as a call to action – to ensure that all Americans can capitalize on the benefits of the digital domain and to ensure that our Nation carries through on the positive opportunities ahead of us.”

Fortinet has a longstanding history of partnering with public and private sectors as part of the company’s commitment to closing the cyber skills gap. Through Fortinet’s participation at the Summit, the company looks to further advance their work to make cybersecurity training more accessible to everyone in order to address the talent shortage the industry faces.

White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit

“Fortinet is honored to participate in the White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit to share our perspective based on our dedication to closing the cyber skills gap through global cross-industry collaboration and dialogue. Since the establishment of the Fortinet Training Institute in 2016 and through our Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) initiatives, Fortinet continues to work to make cybersecurity opportunities accessible to more people, including populations who are often overlooked,” Sandra Wheatley, SVP at Fortinet, stated ahead of the event.

Global Impact of the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage

Fortinet recently released a global study that demonstrates multiple risks resulting from the cybersecurity skills gap. Most notably, 8 in 10 organizations surveyed have suffered at least one breach they could attribute to a lack of cybersecurity skills or awareness. In addition, 87 percent of organizations have implemented a training program to increase cyber awareness. However, 52 percent of leaders believe their employees still lack necessary knowledge, which raises question around how effective their current security awareness programs are in reality.

Fortinet Training Advancement Agenda Bridges Cybersecurity Skills Gap

Fortinet is committed to addressing this growing industry issue through training and certifications offered through the Fortinet Training Institute as part of the Training Advancement Agenda. During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Fortinet made all its self-paced training courses available to anyone for free to increase access to its training curriculum for everyone, regardless of background or lived experience. In addition, the company made a commitment to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by 2026 to make a significant dent in addressing the skills gap.

Find out more about how Fortinet's Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) and Training Institute programs—including the NSE Certification program, Academic Partner program, and Education Outreach program—are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.