The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has reported significant progress in implementing its Cyber Workforce Strategy, achieving 90% of its objectives for fiscal year 2024. Launched in December 2023, the strategy outlines 38 initiatives to bolster cyber workforce recruitment, retention, and development.
With an implementation timeline spanning FY 2024 to FY 2027, the plan aims to address workforce shortages and strengthen national cybersecurity capabilities.
Key accomplishments include the establishment of the Cyber Academic Engagement Office, faster civilian hiring processes, and integration of cyber scenarios in training. However, challenges remain, including the inability to establish a dedicated funding mechanism and the ongoing shortage of 28,000 cyber personnel.
As the DoD looks ahead to FY 2025, efforts will focus on enhancing qualification programs and developing skills-based assessments for new hires.
Why It Matters: The success of the DoD’s Cyber Workforce Strategy is critical to ensuring the nation’s cyber resilience. By addressing significant workforce gaps and emphasizing training, the strategy directly supports the U.S.’s ability to defend against evolving cyber threats. Continued progress will not only enhance national security but also set a benchmark for cyber workforce initiatives across industries.
- Year-One Achievements: The DoD met 90% of its planned goals for FY 2024, including nine of its ten highlighted initiatives. Key actions involved creating the Cyber Academic Engagement Office, accelerating hiring to an average of 79 days, and reducing the civilian workforce vacancy rate by 4.8%, surpassing the target of 2%.
- Challenges and Shortfalls: Despite progress, the DoD did not secure a dedicated cyber workforce fund, a goal now deferred to FY 2027. This fund is essential for supporting intern programs and centralized training initiatives.
- Workforce Metrics: In 2024, the DoD hired 14,000 civilians but lost 6,000, leading to a net gain. The civilian vacancy rate now stands at 16.2%, with an estimated total workforce shortage of 28,000 employees across military and civilian roles.
- Strategic Focus Areas: For FY 2025, the DoD plans to strengthen qualification programs for cybersecurity professionals and implement skills-based assessments to better target and retain highly qualified candidates.
- Turnover Trends: While turnover among cyber experts remains a challenge, the DoD is working to distinguish between positive turnover (upskilling and career progression) and negative turnover (loss of critical skills), with a focus on retaining top performers.
Go Deeper -> DoD Makes Progress With Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation – AFCEA