industry unlocked
assist individuals looking to learn
new skills or expand their current
cybersecurity knowledge so they can
enter the field or progress in their
career growth.
• Help untapped candidates
launch their careers: Fortinet and
IBM are providing more learning
opportunities to candidates who
may typically be overlooked for
a role in cybersecurity. These
untapped candidates include those
with long-term unemployment or
underemployment, young adults
without traditional degrees, refugees,
migrants, asylum seekers, career
changers, veterans and military
spouses. Fortinet and IBM are both
working with non-profits focused on
the military community worldwide –
including CASY, SaluteMyJob and
Soldier On – to provide veterans and
military spouses training and skills to
enter the workforce.
• Connect learners to employers:
Through Fortinet’s Security
Academy Programme and Veterans
Programme, Fortinet connects
veterans and veteran spouses
to its ecosystem of partners and
customers. Many of them have
secured employment in cybersecurity
as a result. Now, Fortinet will work
to extend its ecosystem of hiring
partners and customers to learners
on the SkillsBuild platform as well.
• Offer further recognition of skills:
Through IBM’s SkillsBuild, learners
can earn badges that offer tangible
evidence to employers of their
expertise, including a cybersecurity
badge for the courses leveraging
Fortinet’s curriculum. These badges
prepare learners towards a path
to receive technology-focused
certifications, such as Fortinet’s
eight-level Certification Programme.
Technology-focused certifications
are highly valued by employees
as seen with a recent Fortinet
survey that found that 82% of
organisations prefer to hire
candidates with certifications.
Fortinet’s corporate social
responsibility initiatives
One focus area of Fortinet’s Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives is
addressing the cybersecurity skills gap
by collaborating with other businesses,
academic institutions through the
Security Academy Programme and
governments around the world. Fortinet
partners with global leaders from
various sectors to help shape the future
Fortinet and IBM
are providing
more learning
opportunities to
candidates who
may typically be
overlooked for a role
in cybersecurity.
of cybersecurity and to build new
opportunities in the digital economy. In
addition to its strategic partnership with
IBM to further develop the cybersecurity
talent pool, Fortinet is a founding
member of the World Economic Forum’s
(WEF) Centre for Cybersecurity and
the Cyber Threat Alliance. Fortinet
also has a partnership with the NATO
Communications and Information Agency
and is a member of an expert working
group within INTERPOL.
Additionally, Fortinet offers training and
certifications through the NSE Training
Institute to further develop skills and
reskill or upskill IT professionals to fill
the talent shortage. Fortinet recently
made all of its NSE Training Institute’s
self-paced security training courses
available for free to help address the
rapidly evolving needs of organisations
securing highly distributed and remote
workforces. These courses provide
individuals the opportunity to gain new
knowledge or upskill.
Lisa Neddam, SkillsBuild Programme
Leader, IBM Corporate Social
Responsibility, said: “Some of the
toughest challenges businesses are
facing today need skills that don’t
require a traditional degree, such
as cybersecurity experts, which is
why there is a critical need to make
sure everyone, from job seekers to
professionals transitioning to new
careers, are gaining meaningful skills
that align to industry needs. That’s why,
regardless of background, education
or life experience, SkillsBuild will equip
learners with the professional skills
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