Drexel University offering cybersecurity training

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Drexel University in Philadelphia is currently offering a registered apprenticeship program approved by the Pennsylvania Apprenticeship and Training Council (PATC) to prepare students for jobs as cybersecurity support technicians.

Cybersecurity support technicians help in safeguarding their employers’ information technology systems.

The training is linked to CompTIA Apprenticeships for Tech, a U.S. Department of Labor initiative to increase the number of skilled technology workers and expand tech career opportunities for women, individuals with disabilities, and people of color.

“The rise of nontraditional earn-and-learn apprenticeships such as cybersecurity creates access and opportunity for all, no matter where one may be on their academic and career continuum,” Kena Sears-Brown, Drexel’s Goodwin College of Professional Studies director of Continuing Professional Education & Workforce Initiatives, said.

Apprentices will receive on-the-job experience and classroom instruction. They will learn how to detect cyber threats, how to implement changes to protect an organization, and other foundations of technology.

During the 12-month period ending September 2022, there were nearly 770,000 job postings for cybersecurity job roles and skills in the United States, according to data from CyberSeek, a cybersecurity workforce analytics platform. Of that total, nearly 25,000 were openings in Pennsylvania, with the majority in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.