The cybersecurity skills shortage is challenging for organizations of all sizes and across all sectors. To tackle this issue, cybersecurity vendor Fortinet pledged to train 1 million people globally over the next five years through its cybersecurity training, certification, career-growth, and employment-assistance programs.

Fortinet earlier this year extended its free training program. The vendor first introduced the Network Security Experts (NSE) Training Institute in April 2020, and in January it made all the self-paced courses available for free in part to respond to the pandemic-led cybersecurity professionals shortage crisis. The NSE Certification Program offers eight-level training and certification, which issued more than 680,000 certifications and counted more than 1 million hours of training to date, according to Fortinet.

Amid recent cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructures, Fortinet also recently introduced a new operational technology (OT) security course as part of its NSE level 7 certification to expand its offering for OT skills training.

The NSE training programs help advance Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), which aims to make cybersecurity training and career opportunities accessible to everyone. Fortinet plans to collaborate with IBM, Salesforce, the World Economic Forum, and other private and public sectors to train a skilled, inclusive, and diverse cyber workforce through its NSE, Education Outreach, and Veterans programs.

The company noted that it has certified more than 2,000 veterans and their spouses over the last two years.

To help build a cyber-aware workforce, Fortinet also developed the Information Security Awareness and Training Service last year. The service offers free cybersecurity awareness components to educate about potential cyber threats including phishing, social engineering, and ransomware attacks.

Fortinet’s new pledge comes in response to the federal government’s calling on private-sector assistance to reduce security risks and help fill the shortage of skilled professionals. 

“On the heels of the Biden Administration calling for cross-sector leaders to tackle the cybersecurity challenges affecting organizations and people globally, Fortinet is furthering its commitment to significantly reduce the cyber skills gap as part of this initiative,” Fortinet founder and CEO Ken Xie said in a statement.

Several other tech giants also recently announced skills training partnerships and initiatives after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden late last month.

Microsoft pledged $150 million to improve U.S. government agencies’ security posture and expand cybersecurity training partnerships. Amazon plans to make cybersecurity training materials available to individuals and businesses. Apple will establish a new supply chain security program offering training to its 9,000-plus suppliers in the U.S. 

Meanwhile, other vendors have proposed novel approaches to filling the skills shortage. Snyk CEO Peter McKay offered a solution: enlist the world’s 27 million software developers to secure code from the start. And Palo Alto Networks partnered with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) to launch the Cybersecurity Education and Career Resource Library that offers access to a set of curated content from leading cybersecurity companies.