IBM issued the following statement from Chris Padilla, Vice President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, IBM, regarding the release of the Office of the National Cyber Director’s National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy:

“Being a continuous learner is a core value at IBM, and the company has a long history of investing in the careers of its employees and expanding ways for more people to get good paying jobs, particularly in the technology industry. One of the most critical and high demand areas in need of skilled tech workers is the cybersecurity industry. At the 2021 White House Cybersecurity Summit, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna announced a commitment to help skill 150,000 people in cybersecurity over the next three years and as of today we have provided cybersecurity skills to over 119,500 people.

“With this experience in mind, we are pleased to see the Office of the National Cyber Director embrace a skills first approach to fill open cybersecurity positions and leverage quality, no cost resources such as IBM SkillsBuild, to help Americans obtain the skills needed. IBM appreciates the White House’s focus on skills for both federal employees and federal contractors, as well as on work-based learning programs such as apprenticeships. Additionally, IBM welcomes improvements to data interoperability and the sharing of cybersecurity workforce data within the federal government.

“In today’s reality, cybersecurity skills are foundational, and more Americans need pathways to these skills. We look forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration to boost America’s cybersecurity preparedness and help close the tech skills gap.”