Microsft is hoping to reduce the gap related to cybersecurity skills, here's how

Companies like Booz Allen Hamilton report the annual earnings of entry-level cybersecurity employees to be around US$150,000. The median base compensation for chief information security officers, which typically requires a master's degree, is US$584,000, according to a survey by Heidrick & Struggles.  Despite steep demand and six-figure salaries, only 3% of U.S. bachelor's degree-holders have cybersecurity-related skills, Cybersecurity Ventures reports. This skills gap is what Microsoft is hoping to change by honing in on the lack of diversity in the computing and cybersecurity fields. Among cybersecurity specialist jobs, 83% of these roles are held by men and 72.6% by white people.

How Microsft is Reducing the Skill Gap?

In 2021, Microsoft launched its cybersecurity skills initiative, which included the company giving US$150 million to federal, state, and local governments to support upgrading government agencies' cyber protection and committing to spending US$20 billion on advancing their security solutions over the next five years. The initiative also included a large-scale effort to support cybersecurity education.

Like many industries within tech, cybersecurity is facing both a workforce shortage and a widening skills gap among workers. According to Kate Behncken, vice president and head of Microsoft Philanthropies, citing research by Cybersecurity Ventures, by 2025 there will be 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs open globally. Microsoft originally launched the skilling campaign in the U.S. last fall, partnering with 135 community colleges to skill and recruit workers into the cybersecurity industry.

By expanding skilling and training to 23 countries, Microsoft aims to get ahead of the demand. The countries, which include Australia, Brazil, Canada, and India, were chosen due to their "elevated cyber threat risk."

The company plans to work with the countries' local schools, nonprofits, governments, and businesses to develop skilling programs. The goal is to fit the unique needs of each market.

The almost two dozen countries were also identified as markets that have a significant gap in their cybersecurity workforces, unable to keep up with the demand and diversity in the field. "In the countries where we are expanding our campaign, on average, only 17% of the cybersecurity workforce are female," Behncken wrote in her blog post announcing the news.

Microsft Invests in Community Colleges and Schools

Microsoft is making major investments in the U.S. community colleges – an often overlooked asset. Community college students are typically diverse and affordable. They're also all over the country, and they meet the needs of students of all ages. So, Microsoft's four-year campaign is committing to a few things.

Microsoft is giving every U.S. community college access to free curriculum, educator training, and teaching tools. The resources will align with certification course materials for Microsoft.

But just because you get the curriculum doesn't always mean you have the staff to teach. So, Microsoft is working with the colleges to train and retain their cybersecurity faculty. And community colleges that are accelerating their cybersecurity programs will receive grants and technical assistance too.

One of the key benefits of taking cybersecurity education to community colleges is that it offers affordable education options to a diverse talent pool. Diversity is truly a force multiplier in understanding the people behind cyber problems. And Microsoft is offering scholarship programs for at least 25,000 students for the next four years. The funding is intended to supplement existing federal and state financing programs, and it can be used to cover various financial barriers to education – like childcare.