WINSTON-SALEM -- The National Security Agency has named six Cybersecurity Regional Resource Centers at community colleges across the country, and Forsyth Tech is one of them.
It's trusting the centers to not only train students for cybersecurity jobs, but to highlight the need.
"Their cyber identity needs to be protected, and that's not just on their laptops or their computers or tablets. It's the internet of things, their watches, medical devices, pacemakers, heart monitors. They all need to have an awareness of what security means," said Pamela Shortt, Forsyth Tech Community College Dean of Business and Information Technologies.
The NSA will provide funding for the community college to create and administer workshops and professional development programs to train cybersecurity faculty, then pass that advanced NSA training along to students.
"Which is really the top tier of cybersecurity expertise in our country. It really gives our students an advantage when they go out into the job market, and it attests to the quality of instruction," said Dr. Gary Green, Forsyth Tech Community College President.
This month, the NSA will give Forsyth Tech funding under President Obama's Cybersecurity National Alliance Plan for the K-12 Pathway Initiative pilot program.
This program is aimed at getting primary and secondary school students interested in cybersecurity careers since experts say by 2020 there will be 1.5 million unfilled jobs in the profession.
"We're wanting to reach students at a younger age and bring that awareness that security is something they need to be aware of wherever they are, whatever they're doing -- posting to Facebook, Twitter, all of their devices," said Shortt.
Preparing students in our area for the technology of and the careers of tomorrow.
The NSA will formally announce funding for both cybersecurity programs and the "K-12 Pathway Initiative" mid-month.
Both programs will begin early next year.