Fortinet joins the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy initiative

Building on the company’s mission to close the cyberskills gap globally, Fortinet participates in European Union pledge to upskill and reskill individuals.

Fortinet has announced it has joined the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy initiative.

Through the Fortinet Training Institute, Fortinet pledges to offer its award-winning cybersecurity training and security awareness curriculum to up to 75,000 individuals for free in Europe over the next three years. This pledge is designed to help reduce the cybersecurity skills shortage across the European Union (EU), further contributing to Fortinet’s global goal set in 2021 to train one million people worldwide in cybersecurity across a five-year span.

Rob Rashotte, Vice President of Global Training and Global Field Enablement at Fortinet, said: “Fortinet is committed to making cybersecurity education and training accessible to all to address the global talent shortage; public-private partnerships play a vital role in this effort. Our collaboration with the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy is aligned with our goal of providing cybersecurity training to one million people globally by 2026. We look forward to providing more learning opportunities to individuals across all 27 countries of the European Union to develop the cyber workforce in the region.”

Developing the EU cybersecurity workforce to enhance the region’s resilience

Increasingly, adversaries’ tactics are becoming more sophisticated, and they are rapidly identifying ways to evade security controls. Yet many business leaders do not have the security staff needed to adequately protect their organisation’s networks. Roughly 40% of EU-based IT decision-makers find it challenging to recruit, hire and retain qualified security professionals, and almost 50% say it is difficult to meet their diversity goals of hiring more women, military veterans and individuals from minority backgrounds.

The Cybersecurity Skills Academy, introduced by the European Commission in 2023, aims to help close the cybersecurity skills gap in the EU by bringing together private and public entities to promote cybersecurity skills and develop the workforce. The Academy offers a single point of entry for individuals, academic institutions and organisations to access cybersecurity training, certifications and funding opportunities.

By joining this important initiative, Fortinet will offer its Fortinet Training Institute’s Certification program curriculum through the Cybersecurity Skills Academy to further increase access to cybersecurity awareness training to develop essential skill sets and help individuals grow in their security careers or start in the field.

Advancing Fortinet’s commitment to close the global cybersecurity skills gap

Fortinet’s involvement in the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy initiative builds on its longstanding commitment to address the cybersecurity skills gap worldwide.

The Fortinet Training Institute serves IT and security professionals, students and educators and underserved communities, including women and veterans, through its various programs including the Academic Partner program and Education Outreach program. To further help advance this work, Fortinet is a part of various public-private partnerships, including participating in the White House’s National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy commitments by introducing free security awareness training for primary and secondary school educators and students in the United States. This free training has now expanded to school districts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Brazil. All these efforts contribute toward Fortinet’s goal to train one million people globally in cyber by 2026.