The White House has implemented a program to help fill roughly 500,000 open tech positions across the United States. The program, Service for America, was developed by the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to help connect Americans with available jobs in cybersecurity, technology and artificial intelligence. “Our nation has a critical need for cyber talent,” explains ONCD Director Harry Coker, Jr., who notes many of the open cyber positions do not require a computer science degree or deeply technical background.

In fact, “the program’s major emphasis is to reach job candidates without traditional qualifications,” writes Cybersecurity Dive, adding “the White House unveiled a national cyber workforce and education strategy in July 2023 as part of a major effort to close the skills gap.”

“The truth is, cyber jobs are available to anyone who wants to pursue them,” Coker writes in a White House post.

“Every day in our nation, we Americans find ourselves up against bad actors in cyberspace, whether they are foreign governments or cyber criminals,” he adds. They threaten institutions, businesses and critical infrastructure, and “it is crucial that we have a strong cyber workforce to address these threats and strengthen our resistance to them.”

The Biden administration has outlined its recruitment approach in the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, explains Technology Magazine, which reports steps include eliminating “unnecessary degree requirements and transitioning to a skills-based hiring approach, particularly within federal government IT positions.”

The administration recently added $244 million to its registered apprentice program, which caters to various growing industries, including cybersecurity. “Federal initiatives are also underway to support neurodivergent candidates and those who are blind and visually impaired,” reports Dark Reading.

Locally-driven efforts that focus employers, academia, local governments, and non-profits on community-based training, education, and workforce needs is also part of the program.

The White House is sharing links to job recruitment fairs and other programs that run through October. “It’s not clear whether the White House intends to continue the campaign’s work in any way after Service for America concludes at the end of next month, or if any future pushes are planned to fill the nearly half a million vacant cybersecurity jobs,” writes The Register.