Bret Fund, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Infosec, a Cengage Group company, highlights the growing demand for cybersecurity professionals amidst a global shortfall of approximately 4 million workers. Despite the increasing number of students graduating with computer science degrees each year, there is still a significant gap in cybersecurity talent. Fund emphasizes that a college degree alone is not sufficient for many cybersecurity roles, which require advanced credentials and certifications, posing challenges for both educators and employers in developing a skilled cyber workforce.
Fund advocates for a shift towards transformational learning rather than transactional learning to address the talent gaps and emerging security threats in the cybersecurity industry. Transformational learning involves simultaneously pursuing cyber certifications and credentials alongside a traditional education, allowing individuals to acquire a diverse skill set and adapt their career paths. By graduating career-ready, credentialed, and certified cyberworkers, educational institutions could potentially close future cybersecurity talent gaps and provide significant returns on investment for learners.
Implementing a transformational learning approach in organizations can have numerous benefits for businesses, including faster hiring processes, improved evaluation of candidates, and reduced training costs. By ensuring that entry-level candidates possess the necessary qualifications and certifications, businesses can streamline their hiring processes and reallocate resources to more proactive training efforts that help employees stay ahead of emerging threats. Cultivating a culture of transformational learning within companies involves treating learning as a continuous process, providing on-demand resources, incorporating various learning formats, and training managers to be effective coaches.
Fostering a transformational learning culture allows employees to continually evolve and adapt to changing business conditions, unlocking an organization’s full potential for growth. Encouraging employees to view their work as a learning opportunity and celebrating the learning process rather than just successful outcomes can help create a culture of knowledge-sharing and continuous improvement. By prioritizing the creation of a transformational learning culture and being open to candidates from alternative learning paths, businesses can benefit from a variety of viewpoints and perspectives within the workforce.
While progress has been made in transforming education and offering lifelong learning choices, there are still barriers to be addressed in implementing transformational learning. Fund emphasizes the importance of identifying and removing these obstacles to foster a culture of continuous learning and development in both educational institutions and organizations. In his next article, Fund plans to focus on these barriers to transformational learning and strategies for overcoming them.
