In today’s ever-evolving threat landscape, organizations have encountered a stark cybersecurity skills gap. Spurred by new, innovative forms of cybercrime and a growingattack surfacecaused by the shift to remote work, demand for skilled cyber professionals is at an all-time high.
That’s why Fortinet made all of its self-paced online courses fromthe Network Security Expert (NSE) Training Instituteavailable for free to all, starting at the beginning of 2020. Whether you’re a student, veteran, or already have a career in computer science, these courses are designed to give participantsa foundational and advanced understanding of cybersecurity tools and principles.
Since making more than 30 courses available for free to anyone worldwide, there have been more than one million registrations for the free training courses. Given the demand and interest in the company’sfree cybersecurity trainingin 2020, Fortinet’s self-paced advanced courses will remain available free of charge beyond 2021 to continue developing the world’s cyber workforce of the future.
Developing the Cyber Workforce with Free Cybersecurity Training
By extending access to free online cybersecurity courses through NSE, Fortinet is creating more career pathways for anyone wanting to advance theirinformation securityknowledge or start a career in cybersecurity.Fortinet’s free cybersecurity training initiative provides learners with the following:
More than 30 courses on topics ranging fromsecure SD-WANtooperational technology(OT) security tocloud securitywith more courses expected to be added throughout the year.
Pre-recorded lab demos by cybersecurity experts available for on-demand viewing.
Preparation for NSE Certification exams. Most of the free courses are based on official curriculum for the FortinetNSE Certification Program. Fortinet’s Certification Programis an eight-levelinformation securityprogram that has issued more than half a million certifications.
Continuing Professional Credits through a partnership with (ISC)2. Individuals can use their free training completion – as well as any NSE training course – to gain Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for CISSP and other (ISC)2 designations.Learners earn one credit for every hour ofNSE Training Institute training they do with Fortinet.
Fortinet extends availability of its free cybersecurity training courses beyond 2021.
Kick-Start Your Career in Cybersecurity with Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute
In addition to the free cybersecurity training initiative, the NSE Training Institute addresses the industry’s skills gap by developing career pathways for security professionals, students, veterans and more through itsSecurity Academy Program,Certification ProgramandVeterans Program.
TheSecurity Academy Programsupports more than 300 academic institutions in more than 80 different countries. Through this program, Fortinet gives participants access to Fortinet’s NSE training and Certification Program curriculum to prepare them for a career in cybersecurity. Fortinet’sVeterans Programhelps veterans and military families develop skills, reskill, or upskill to enter a career in cybersecurity.
With its eight levels of certification, theNSE Certification Programeffectively bridges the cybersecurity skills gap by teaching real world skills through virtual means. These courses help attendees learn cybersecurity fundamentals (NSE 1-3), technical product training (NSE 4-6), advanced solution-based training (NSE 7) and the cybersecurity expert recognition (NSE 8).
"Given the demand and interest in the company’s free cybersecurity training in 2020, Fortinet’s self-paced advanced courses will remain available free of charge beyond 2021 to continue developing the world’s cyber workforce of the future."
Tackling the Skills Gap Through an Extensive Global Ecosystem
As both a technology company and a learning organization, Fortinet has a longstanding commitment to forming global partnerships to further address the cyber skills gap and advance information sharing critical to tackling today’s sophisticated threats. Fortinet is afounding memberof the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for Cybersecurity and theCyber Threat Alliance. Through these collaborations with global leaders from private and public sectors, Fortinet is looking to deliver a response to the growing sophisticated cybersecurity threats while closing the skills gap. Fortinet also partners with theNATO Communications and Information Agencyand is a member of an expert working group withinINTERPOLto further innovate and develop powerful global solutions to reduce global cyberattacks.
The NSE Training Institute has become a global leader in cybersecurity training, education and skills development. This has resulted in a large ecosystem of NSE Training Institute partners who help to provide the industry with a diverse, equitable and inclusive pipeline of cybersecurity professionals.
Find out more about how Fortinet’sTraining Advancement Agenda(TAA) andNSE Training Instituteprograms, including theCertification Program,Security Academy ProgramandVeterans Program, are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.
