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UA-PTC Cybersecurity programs address worker shortage

UA – Pulaski Tech has been fulfilling the Information Technology education needs of central Arkansas and beyond since the 1990s. While computer security has been important since the dawn of the internet, cybersecurity continues to gain importance as efforts to protect information and systems integrity become ever more vital. For cybersecurity experts, this means strong and growing employment prospects.

An Oct. 20 article in Fortune explains that, though the cybersecurity workforce has reached an all-time high, with an estimated 4.7 million professionals, but there’s still a global shortage of 3.4 million workers in this field, according to the 2022 (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study. And that shortage persists, despite the addition of 464,000 more cybersecurity positions this year, the report found. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 700,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs, data from Cybersecurity Ventures shows.

With seven Information Technology (IT) degrees and certificates available at UA-PTC, the college is making strides to ensure that UA-PTC alumni will fill some of those vacant positions.

“IT is infrastructure, every bit as much as roads, bridges, and drinking water.” says UA – Pulaski Tech IT Assistant Teaching Professor of Computer Science Mayo Johnson. “Without dependable, functional IT systems, work stops. Cybersecurity is crucial to maintaining dependability and functionality.”

The UA-PTC Cybersecurity curriculum is designed for students who are interested in monitoring, securing, and analyzing data networks and cybersecurity operation centers. Students acquire a broad understanding of how to detect, protect, and analyze computer networks threats and the skills needed for an entry-level position in cybersecurity. The college offers an Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Technical Certificate, and a Cybersecurity Certificate of Proficiency.

“Security Analysts, System Security Engineers, and others in the field have excellent prospects for well-paying jobs in central Arkansas and elsewhere,” Johnson said. “The jobs are out there. UA-PTC offers as many networking opportunities as possible, like the one we just participated in at the Venture Center in North Little Rock.”

He refers to the Venture Center’s JOLT Cyber Challenge, a series of competitions held each October where student teams from across Arkansas show off their cyber skills as they compete for prizes. UA – Pulaski Tech was a co-sponsor of the event, where college faculty were on hand to increase the visibility of UA-PTC computer science programs to prospective students and employers alike.

UA-PTC also collaborates with the Cyber Learning Network (CyberLearn), a consortium among seven UA System campuses to expand and diversify workforce education in emergent cyber technologies throughout the state of Arkansas and beyond. Students at each participating institution can work towards a certificate of proficiency in cybersecurity fundamentals via in-person, synchronous online, or asynchronous online learning.

“Whether you are coming right out of high school or retraining to get a better-paying job, I can’t recommend cybersecurity highly enough,” Johnson added. “The need for people to step into those positions will have employers competing for qualified workers for many years to come.”

Pictured: UA-PTC alumnus Malik El-amin and UA-PTC instructor Mayo Johnson