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Fortinet, today, announced significant progress toward its mission to help close the cybersecurity skills gap through its Training Institute programs. In September 2021, Fortinet pledged to train 1 million people in cybersecurity as part of the company’s commitment to addressing the cyber talent shortage. Through Fortinet’s Training Institute programs like the NSE Certification program, Education Outreach Program, and Academic Partner program, the company is progressing on its pledge.

Cyber skill gap is a business imperative
According to Fortinet’s Global 2022 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report, 80 per cent of breaches can be attributed to a lack of cybersecurity awareness. Additionally, 64 per cent of organizations experienced breaches that resulted in the loss of revenue, recovery costs and/or fines. Given the skill gap and its impact on organizations, business leaders consider the lack of talent one of their biggest challenges. Therefore, leaders acknowledge cyber training and awareness as a critical component of their security strategy.

To help address this concern, Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) and Training Institute programs are focused on providing the curriculum to security professionals. Hence, expanding learning and career opportunities for anyone interested in cybersecurity, regardless of background or life experience. These efforts coupled with Fortinet’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are contributing to Fortinet’s progress toward its pledge.

Also Read | Cybersecurity Skills Gap Contributes to 80% of Breaches: Fortinet

The evolution of Fortinet’s technical training to advance skillsets
Advancing security professionals’ technical skillsets is a critical part of Fortinet’s work to close the skills gap. Through the Fortinet Training Institute’s NSE Certification program, Fortinet is promoting continued learning to advance security knowledge and expertise by:

Expanding access to expert technical training with updates to NSE level 8 certification:
The practical exams for the distinguished NSE level 8 certification are now offered online. This makes it accessible to more professionals worldwide looking to achieve or maintain their designation. Certification for NSE level 8 will also be extended to 3 years, taking into account the collaboration that NSE 8s have with Fortinet and their extensive industry knowledge.

Acknowledging the expertise of NSE level 8 with new Charter Members group:
Fortinet has created the NSE 8 Charter Member designation for a select group of individuals who have been NSE level 8 certified since 2016 when the first NSE 8 exam was issued. In addition to benefits, Charter Members will continue to work closely with Fortinet as the company evolves the award-winning NSE Certification program to meet the growing needs of the cybersecurity industry.

Showcasing partner expertise through the Ultimate Fabric Challenge (UFC) Global Championship at Accelerate 2022:
Winners of the inaugural UFC Global Championship were announced at Accelerate 2022 following the half-day, cybersecurity skills-based competition. This competition puts Fortinet partner’s cyber skills to the test while also giving them the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, including $10,000 for the grand prize winner. Global Championship winners included: Ben Le Huray from Australia (1st place), Rafael Rosseto dos Santos from Brazil (2nd place), and Bart Sikkes from the Netherlands (3rd place).

Expanding career opportunities and educating the future cyber workforce through the Fortinet training institute
Fortinet is narrowing the skill gap by educating more people in cybersecurity. Also, it is creating more opportunities for people, regardless of background and experience, to have access to Fortinet’s training. Fortinet provides learning opportunities for various populations – including students – through its Training Institute programs to help better prepare the future cyber workforce.

Also Read | Fortinet Launches New Security Awareness & Training Service to Enhance Cyber Awareness Among Workforce

Increasing access to training through a partnership with Degreed:
Fortinet has partnered with Degreed, the upskilling platform that connects learning to opportunities, to become an official Content Provider via One Clickk. This partnership will make Fortinet’s training available for Degreed’s 7 million users, expanding access to Fortinet’s award-winning training curriculum. Fortinet is providing self-paced access to NSE level 1 through NSE level 7 training, expanding Degreed’s cybersecurity offerings.

Extending reach of training through Academic Partner program collaborations:
With more than 400 Authorized Academic Partners, Fortinet makes its award-winning curriculum available to students worldwide through partnerships with academic institutions. Fortinet continues to expand its partnerships with academia, recently having added partners from Spain, New Zealand, Morocco, Singapore and more, totalling more than 90 different countries and territories.

Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC & Southeast Asia, Fortinet said, “Fortinet’s vision is to make possible a digital world that organizations can always trust by securing people, devices and data everywhere. To help achieve this, Fortinet is committed to closing the cyber skills gap and raising cyber awareness through our TAA initiative and Training Institute programs. Last year we committed to training 1 million people on cybersecurity by 2026 and so far we’re tracking ahead of our goal for the year toward this pledge.”

(With inputs from PIB)

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