Readout: National Cyber Director Brings Investing in America Tour to Arizona during a Visit to Glendale Community College
July 25, 2024
Today, in Glendale, Arizona, National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. visited Glendale Community College (GCC) as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America tour to highlight the power of community colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions to help increase access to good paying, meaningful jobs and build up Arizona’s strong cyber ecosystem.
Director Coker talked in-depth about the challenge to build the Nation’s cyber workforce, citing the best practices of a strong local ecosystem across the Maricopa Community Colleges and the greater Phoenix area. Today, over 25,000 Arizonans are employed in cyber careers and yet there are still 9,800 open cybersecurity jobs in the state — and almost 6,800 of those open jobs are in the Phoenix region.
The work being done at GCC is particularly important to expand opportunities in cybersecurity to all Americans. GCC is a Federally-designated Hispanic-serving institution, which provides strong cyber educational programs and a dedication to building multiple pathways into good-paying, meaningful cyber jobs. Speaking with students, Director Coker heard first-hand from Latino and Latina students, veterans, parents, and students who are retraining for a new career, all of whom have chosen to study cybersecurity – all from parts of our society that are currently underrepresented in the cyber workforce.
Director Coker toured GCC, including a visit to the Gaucho Security Operations Center (GSOC), where students from all 10 community colleges in Maricopa County gain hands-on experience providing rural municipalities with real-time, free cyber services, including protecting utilities and other critical infrastructure.
“By the end of the year, GSOC interns will earn over 300 hours of competency-based experience as either a SOC Analyst or SOC Engineer. This is exposing them to invaluable hands-on experience that is unique to Glendale Community College – it’s what sets you all apart,” said National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. “Let me emphasize that for a moment: here in Maricopa County, students are getting hands-on experience, soaking up the most necessary cybersecurity skills, earning college credit and contributing today to protecting your local infrastructure.”
The Director’s full remarks are available here.
In addition to a strong partnership across the Maricopa Community Colleges, the area boasts great opportunities for high school students to start learning cyber skills. Today, Director Coker visited the AZ Cyber Initiative Intermediate Bootcamp, where he observed 17 high school students who are receiving hands-on learning after they completed the beginner-level bootcamp earlier this summer. High school students can also earn dual credit through a partnership between Maricopa Community Colleges and the Western Maricopa Education Center, a public school district that provides Career Technical Education programs for local high school students, preparing them to earn cyber certifications.
In line with President Biden’s National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy released last July, Director Coker saw firsthand at GCC how a focus on skills-based, hands-on learning opportunities positions students at a significant advantage in the workforce. A testament to the quality of its educational program, the National Security Agency has designated GCC as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda has delivered for Arizona.
In May 2023, Phoenix was designated a Biden-Harris Administration Workforce Hub, bringing together industry, government, colleges, and unions to help workers in Arizona access good jobs created by private and public sector investments in the state.
The Investing in America Agenda has also delivered significant funding to Arizona, including:
- Investing in building out the digital infrastructure across the state: specifically with $2.1 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet access across all of Arizona. Households can check their eligibility, sign up, and find fully covered internet plans at GetInternet.gov
- Investing in cyber readiness: specifically with $10 million for the Arizona Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Readiness Program, which provides cyber resources for rural school districts, local Governments, and tribes throughout the state
- Investing in statewide cybersecurity planning activities: specifically with $6.7 million going to the state of Arizona to help them with the necessary planning to prepare for, respond to, and prevent cyber attacks
Additionally, since President Biden took office, companies have committed to investing over $122.3 billion in Arizona, as of June 2024.
