Readout: National Cyber Director Coker Brings the Investing in America Tour to Reno, Nevada Speaking at a Cyber Bootcamp for Middle and High School Teachers

Visit Highlights Work by the Biden-Harris Administration to Prepare Students to Join the Nation’s Cyber Workforce

July 26, 2024

Today, in Reno, Nevada, National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. visited the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) to celebrate the accomplishments of middle and high school teachers as they complete a summer-long course to integrate cybersecurity into their curricula. Their efforts will better prepare their students to take interest in and pursue good-paying, meaningful jobs in cybersecurity.

The bootcamp was funded through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, which is supporting Nevada’s cyber workforce and education ecosystem. Today, over 8,000 Nevadans are employed in cyber careers and there are still over 4,000 open cybersecurity jobs in the state — and more than 350 of those openings are in the Reno metro area.

While meeting teachers, staff, and leaders from the UNR Cybersecurity Center, Director Coker commended UNR on its commitment to building a pipeline of cybersecurity professionals with education starting as early as high school.

“I appreciate this opportunity to sit down and learn from teachers… to go back to school, as it were. Teachers are a vital piece of the puzzle and you are the best resource we have,” said National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. “Our National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy talks about the importance of a skilled and educated cyber workforce and the importance of connecting employers, schools, and non-profits, to cultivate our cyber workforce.”

During the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Workshop, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, local educators spend six weeks engaging in research experiences and developing modules and materials to implement in their classrooms during the academic year.

The Director’s full remarks are available here.

While addressing Reno-area teachers, Director Coker announced the upcoming Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award, administered through the U.S. Department of Education. This award is presented annually to two teachers — one at the elementary level and one at the secondary level — who demonstrate superior achievement in instilling skills, knowledge, and passion with respect to cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related subjects. The nomination window for this award opens next Thursday, August 1 and closes on September 13, 2024. Detailed information on this program is available here.

In line with the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy released last July, Director Coker saw how UNR is facilitating meaningful pathways for teachers to help students begin their cyber career preparation as early as middle school.

UNR earned its designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity from the National Security Agency (NSA). In addition to recognition by the NSA, the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program designated UNR as a Tech Hub in October 2023. UNR established the Nevada Tech Hub with the $20 million it received from the Commerce Department program to work with community colleges, stage agencies, industry, and labor unions to bolster the region’s number of skilled workers. The Nevada Tech Hub seeks to position the state as an ideal location for the Nation’s future electrification storage industry, while ensuring a sustainable future for U.S. electrification and energy storage needs. In addition, the Nevada Tech Hub plans to deliver on the Nation’s lithium battery and EV materials needs – ultimately fulfilling the President’s vision of an electric vehicle future.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda has delivered significant funding to Nevada, including:

• Investing in building the digital infrastructure across the state: specifically with $838 million to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet access across Nevada. Households can check their eligibility, sign up, and find fully covered internet plans at GetInternet.gov 

• Investing in statewide cybersecurity planning activities: specifically with $2.4 million going to the state of Nevada to help them with the necessary planning to prepare for, respond to, and prevent cyber attacks

• Investing in Jobs of the Future with $21 million awarded to the Nevada Tech Hub to lead initiatives to strengthen the state’s lithium batteries and other electric vehicle materials industry sectors

Since President Biden took office, companies have committed to investing over $10 billion in Nevada, as of June 2024.