促进基于技能的网络招聘和劳动力发展：基于工作的学习在网络劳动力中的独特性和价值

Introduction The continuously evolving nature of cybersecurity demands an agile and tacticalapproach to learning and skilldevelopment. One method of meeting this demand isthrough work-based learning.Work-based learning is a type of educationalprogramming that exposes students to the knowledge and skills required for a givencareer or industry and occurs in a workplace setting through on-the-job training or anenvironmentthatclosely resembles the workplace.1It includes internships,apprenticeships, youth employment programs, project-based learning, and experientiallearning. Work-based learning is not unique to the cybersecurity field, but it is part of a broaderworkforce ecosystem shift to embrace practicessuch asskills-based hiring andleveraging alternative educational pathways. For example, theU.S.Office of theNational Cyber Director’s (ONCD) 2023National Cyber Workforce and EducationStrategy(NCWES) contains lines of effort specifically aimed at work-based learningunder“Strategic Objective 3.2: Promoting Skills-Based Hiring and WorkforceDevelopment.”2The NCWES calls upon employers to focus on skills needed for cyberjobs rather than college degrees or experience as indicators of qualification, and also toincrease on-ramps into the workforce through work-based learning opportunities. Quantitative research shows that work-based learning is an effective learningmechanism, but little qualitative research exists for the cybersecurity workforcespecifically. This roundtable discussion provides insight from16academics,practitioners, and educators into what makes work-based learning unique, effective,and valuable for the cyber workforce.Participants are not namedasthe roundtablewas conducted underthe Chatham House Rule. Key Takeaways Participants agreed work-based learning provides: •Practical opportunities for careerreadiness or career advancement.•Structured, experiential, and hands-on learning that focuses on industry needs,training on industry-specific tools, or the current cyber threat landscape. Participants agreed that the cybersecurity workforce needs to: •Move past the “either/or” system so that work-based learningandtraditionaleducation is more of a “both/and” system. Higher education values theoreticallearning, butthese values are not always the same in industry. However, asubstantial knowledge base is required for just about any occupation in thecybersecurity field, and is sometimes best delivered in a traditional educationalsetting. Participants believe effective approaches to work-basedlearning for cyberare: •Ecosystemdevelopment.•Programs that are paid and long in duration.•Policy incentives to makework-based learningattractive to employers. Participants perceive certain challenges that limit the utilization or adoption ofwork-based learning for cyber: •Finding people who are willing to provide the opportunity remains a challengefor theacademic community.•Mid-career or nontraditional learners and rural communities have limitedaccessibility to such programs. Discussion and Analysis Participants were asked to considerfourquestionswith respect to cyber education andworkforce development at all levels and stages. First, participants were asked whatwork-based learning means to them as a way to discover and establish commonground among participants. Second, participants were askedto discuss the value ofwork-based learning compared to traditional degrees to begin assessing how expertscompare and contrast these different educational models.Third, participants wereasked to discussthe most effective work-based learning approaches, whichallowedparticipants to extrapolate or provide examples for topics mentioned in the previousquestion.Fourth, participants were asked what challenges might prevent morelearners from utilizing work-based learning pathways,which provided participantsanopportunity to discuss policy and ecosystem recommendations. 1. What does work-based learning mean to you? Participants were first asked to describe what work-based learning means to them asa way to discover and establish common ground. Participants agree that work-basedlearningprovides: •Practical opportunities for career readiness or career advancement.In thiscontext, career readiness refers to creating pathways from the K-12 educationsystem to community college, university, or the broader workforce. Careeradvancement refers to mid-career transitions, upskilling and reskilling theexisting workforce,or adult learners entering the workforce. There was nostrong indication that either the K-12 or higher education system excels atofferingwork-basedlearning. However, roundtable participants largely agreedthat K-12 work-based learning focuses on career readiness, whereas highereducation focuses on career advancementbecause ofthe types of learnerpopulations it serves. •Structured, experiential, and hands-on learning that focuses on industryneeds or the current cyber threat landscape.The workforce needs this type oflearning beca