Lawmakers renew push for Labor Department-backed cyber apprenticeship grants
Lawmakers renew push for Labor Department-backed cyber apprenticeship grants
https://cyberscoop.com/labor-department-cybersecurity-workforce-apprenticeships/
Publish Date: 2026-04-02 12:19:00
Source Domain: cyberscoop.com
With the country’s cybersecurity workforce still experiencing major shortages, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is pushing to enlist the Department of Labor to help tackle the problem.
The Cyber Ready Workforce Act would direct the DOL to establish a grant program that supports the “creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity,” per a press release announcing the bill’s introduction this week.
“As cyberattacks become more common and complex, we need to ensure we have the workers with the training and skills necessary to protect our cyber infrastructure and Americans’ personal data,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation will help fill gaps in our cybersecurity workforce and will open the door to more good-paying, cutting edge jobs for Nevadans, regardless of whether or not they have a college degree.”
Another co-sponsor, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, said in a statement that the legislation would provide “targeted support” for businesses, colleges and nonprofits that need more cyber protections. The country’s “severe talent shortage” in cyber “poses a serious threat to our national security and economic growth,” the Tennessee Republican said.
The introduction of the legislation Tuesday isn’t Rosen and Blackburn’s first bite at the apple, but previous efforts stalled out in the Senate. This time around, the senators added a pair of House co-sponsors — Reps. Susie Lee, D-Nev., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. — to the pitch. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration has directed the DOL to do more with apprenticeships and technology.
Lee said in a statement that in Nevada alone, there’s a shortage of 4,000 cybersecurity professionals. Some estimates put the nationwide cyber workforce deficit at nearly half a million jobs.
“Whether you know it or not, cybersecurity…
