Tech Apprenticeship: An Old-School Solution for Workforce Challenges of the Information Age

As society comes to depend more and more on advanced technologies, new approaches are needed to train Americans for the jobs that will be available. With tuition costs skyrocketing and traditional college curricula lagging behind the pace of industry innovation, tech disciplines have a new opportunity to make use of apprenticeship, an ancient model of applied learning now experiencing a renaissance in the information age. 

Demanding an array of technical skills as well as collaborative critical thinking, cybersecurity is particularly well-suited to apprenticeship instruction. In a joint event hosted by the Cybersecurity Initiative and the Center on Education & Skills at New America, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of developing high-quality apprenticeships in rapidly evolving fields like cybersecurity. Opening with a keynote conversation followed by panel of experts, this event will consider both high-level trends in emerging apprenticeships in tech and more concrete questions about teaching cybersecurity through these new models. 

We hope you’ll join us to discuss the future of apprenticeships in developing tech-based fields like cybersecurity. 

This event will be livestreamed on this page, and you can follow the conversation online using #CyberApprentice and following @NewAmericaEd and @NewAmCyber.

Panelists:

Brent Parton
Deputy Director, Center on Education and Skills, New America 

Margaret Leary
Professor and Director of the Cybersecurity Program, Northern Virginia Community College 

Marian Merritt
Lead for Industry Engagement, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, NIST, Department of Commerce 

Debbie Hughes
VP for Higher Education and Workforce, Business-Higher Education Forum 

Moderator: 

Ian Wallace
Senior Fellow, International Security Program & Co-Director, Cybersecurity Initiative, New America.