Northern Virginia “Ground Zero” for tech workforce: Thousands of unfilled cyber jobs could impact local economy

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — If you’re looking for a job in the computer industry, you’re in the right area.

Although this region has the nation’s third-largest digital technology workforce, there are currently 43,200 vacant tech jobs waiting for workers in the DMV — the metropolitan area that includes the District of Columbia, parts of Maryland and all of Northern Virginia.

And two-thirds of those job openings are here in Northern Virginia.

“It’s a serious situation, one which is on the verge of having economic impact on our communities,” said Liza Wilson Durant, an associate dean in the George Mason Volgenau School of Engineering. “We simply can’t graduate enough cyber-ready students.”

But it’s not just an issue for colleges, Durant added. It’s an issue that reaches all the way back to elementary schools to develop a pipeline for students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — the STEM fields.

That’s what brought together a cross-section of more than 200 leaders from the business, academic and veterans’ arenas plus representatives from local, state and federal government jurisdictions. They were on hand June 26 for the Cyber Training and Education Conference, held on the George Mason University Science and Technology Campus just outside Manassas.

The attendees had a common goal: Tackle this critical issue facing the region by preparing more people to fill those cyber jobs and creating a “talent pipeline.”

But the focus wasn’t only on students. There’s also an effort underway to encourage veterans who are transitioning out of their military careers to consider tech positions, either to fill them directly or to become teachers.

Keynote speaker Scott Ralls, president of Northern Virginia Community College, shared statistics that underscore the situation, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity jobs:

• In this region, 47 percent of information technology jobs remain unfilled.
• Ten years ago, cybersecurity was not included in government threat assessments, but for the past four years, it’s been the No. 1 threat, even ahead of terrorism.
• Government spending on cybersecurity has gone from $7.5 billion in 2007 to $28 billion in 2016.
• Cybersecurity job postings increased by 73 percent from 2007 to 2012.

“This is ground zero for cybersecurity workforce demand in the United States,” Ralls said, adding that “we sit in the middle of, by far, the greatest concentration of job demand and the greatest job need in the United States.”

That’s why, he said, employers feel a “sense of urgency” — and in some cases, even a sense of crisis or panic — to fill those jobs.

One key to achieving that, Ralls said, will be to broaden the scope of potential recruits to include more women and minorities. He noted that surveys indicate women comprise 11 percent and minorities comprise 12 percent of the tech workforce.

“We will never, ever, ever fill these gaps unless we can figure out how to broaden the scope of opportunity in the cyber workforce,” he said.

Several speakers noted that the Greater Washington Partnership recently launched a similar effort to position the region as a global hub for technology innovation, including ramping up education efforts, through a project called Capital CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business).

A key part of the project would be creating unique regional credentials, which would be in addition to other educational degrees or certifications. The idea is that they would boost differentiation for those seeking jobs.

“Our region has enormous potential to become a leader in the global economy for years to come, but only if we work together to leverage our strengths across sectors and disciplines,” said Jason Miller, the partnership’s chief executive officer

The conference offered two tracks that represented the efforts needed to prepare more regional tech workers:

• One focused on educators — those who are interested in developing curriculum for K-12 students as well as those offering programs at area colleges.
• The other focused on veterans — to encourage them to transfer the skills learned in the military into the technology field, either through direct employment or teaching.

Workforce development is a “team sport,” said Supervisor Penny Gross of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

While the curriculum has been adopted, “cyber training at the high school level needs qualified and certified teachers … and that takes time,” she said. In addition, “There are many military veterans who would like to remain in this area and have some of the training and certifications, but they also need to be connected to the civilian job arena.”

The key now will be to create and support the education and training programs required to meet the growing needs for a cyber workforce in the region, Gross said: “We know that’s the future.”