Cyber Workforce Results

Over 150 regional educators, employers, military leaders and economic developers attended Cyber & Education Connections on July 24, 2018 to discuss growing workforce demands in the SRSCRO region.  The event was hosted by the SRS Community Reuse Organization in partnership with Augusta University and the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon to support regional workforce development.

Cyber workforce topics relevant to Inside the Gate (Fort Gordon & Savannah River Site) were addressed by senior leaders from the U.S. Army, Savannah River National Laboratory, Department of Energy and the National Security Agency.  Private industry representatives explained current and anticipated cyber workforce needs in a session titled Outside the Gate (Private Industry) involving JANUS Research Group, EDTS Cyber, Raytheon and Unisys Corporation.

Discussions about Educating the Cyber Workforce (Advances & Challenges) involved three superintendents from public school systems and academic leaders from four local colleges and universities.

Forum topics included regional economic growth relative to the cyber industry. Viewpoints were shared from the North Augusta City Administrator, the Georgia Technology Authority and economic developers from Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties.

Highlights from the cyber workforce discussions include:

Is there evidence showing cyber workforce demands are real?

*    Fort Gordon cyber missions are expanding just as other regional industries (manufacturing, nuclear, healthcare, financial) are increasingly focused on cybersecurity.

*    Only an estimated 30% of the needed cyber workforce is anticipated to move locally as the U.S. Army Cyber Command relocates from Fort Belvoir, VA and Fort Meade, MD to Fort Gordon, GA.  

*    From 2016 to 2017, the overall cybersecurity and IT-related workforce in the Augusta Metro and Fort Gordon area grew from 12,716 positions to 14,765 positions, a 16% growth rate.

*    Local studies show that cybersecurity jobs are expected to grow over the next five years.

What regional attributes are needed to attract and retain the critical cyber workforce?

*    Educational opportunities for all ages

*    Quality-of-Place enhancements to live, work and play

*    Opportunities for families to grow and prosper

Do successful applicants need unique skills for cyber-related positions?

*    Not entirely - Some essential skills are common to other regional industries such as understanding professional workplaces, possessing strong communication/teamwork skills, having solid basic skills (reading, writing and math), integrity and accountability.

*    Important education and training skill sets include bachelor and associate degrees that support solid technical foundations such as understanding management of operating systems and networking; proficiency in programming/software development; detailed knowledge of current software and wireless technologies.

How are local school systems, colleges & universities preparing the workforce?

*    Opportunities are growing for K-12 students to participate in programs such as CyberPatriots - a national youth cyber education program and other programs.

*    Certification and Information Technology training programs are expanding at local colleges.

*    Employer/Educator relationships are growing at local universities resulting in education programs that align with local workforce needs.

Cybersecurity Collaboration

What if the Department of Energy (DOE) or Homeland Security consolidated some of their cybersecurity efforts at Savannah River Site (SRS)? Would such an initiative create synergy and partnerships with Fort Gordon's Army's Cyber Command?  Such a cybersecurity collaboration could offer a full spectrum of cybersecurity risk management: identify assets, protect critical systems, detect incidents, respond to incidents and recover to normal operations in the energy and national security sectors. This type of collaboration would promote the mutual exchange of information and resources to improve the security and resilience for both DOE and the Department of Defense (DOD).

The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) thinks the concept has some merit and believes our region is an ideal place to form such a cybersecurity collaboration between DOD and DOE. Therefore, the SRSCRO commissioned a study by Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) this year to validate and assess the region's cyber and energy infrastructure capabilities and perform an analysis of the SRSCRO region's capabilities to determine if a case can be made to move more DOE/Energy sector cybersecurity functions to the various facilities in the SRS region.

ICIT, a 501(c)(3), is America's non-partisan Cybersecurity Think Tank providing objective advisory to the legislative community, federal agencies and critical infrastructure leaders. Through cutting-edge research, publications and educational events, ICIT and its members are improving the resiliency of our nation's critical infrastructure sectors.

The research from the ICIT Phase I Study validated this collaboration concept and determined that SRS is ideally positioned and equipped to assist in the national security missions and the defense of the energy grid and other critical infrastructure assets. The Study results indicated SRS could evolve to serve one or more of the following roles:

*    Secure Operations Center (SOC)

*    Vulnerability, Exploit, and Malware Clearinghouse

*    Cyber-kinetic Attack Emulation Site

*    Gamification and Emulation Site

*    Workforce Development Leader

*    Cyber-hygiene Educator

*    IT-OT Mitigation and Remediation Testing bed

To move the initiative forward additional socialization and marketing is required. ICIT is moving forward with Phase 2 of the collaboration project to accomplish this objective. The major messaging for Phase 2 includes:

*    The local area is ideally positioned and equipped to assist in the national security missions and the defense of the energy grid and other critical energy infrastructure assets. It could also evolve to serve a role in the cyber "first response" or cyber "national guard" initiatives.

*    Unique synergy exists to collaborate with developing cybersecurity missions of the Army Cyber Command relocating to the local area.

*    If needed, SRS provides a site with strong security ingress/egress and with significant landmass to host numerous cyber-related exercises and demonstration projects. If security is not a priority, the local area is well equipped to accommodate offsite cybersecurity missions.

*    A current and expanding cyber workforce is available which is supported by local area colleges and universities developing robust computer science, cybersecurity, and engineering degrees.

*    Local area partnerships are available with national security entities, critical infrastructure organizations, leading academic institutions, and reputable defense and healthcare organizations.

*    Welcoming vibrant community in the midst of a quality of life resurgence with a stable economic growth, low cost of living, and low regional development costs.

The SRSCRO vision for an end-result could be a 200+ workforce to be housed at SRS or in the SRSCRO Region. The direct impact from labor income alone could approach $20-25 million per year.  To make this vision a reality a specific "champion" at the program mission level and/or at the Congressional level is required. In addition, a specific mission and, more important, funding is required. This will not be a quick process but the SRSCRO believes the effort is worth pursuing to bring another enduring mission to this region. More information on this initiative will be forth coming.

AUSA Partnership

The SRS Community Reuse Organization is proud to be a new partner with the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), Greater August-Fort Gordon Chapter.   During the chapter's August Breakfast & Briefings, COL(R) Kelly Knitter, President of the AUSA Fort Gordon Chapter, recognized the SRSCRO by presenting a plaque to Rick McLeod, SRSCRO President and CEO. 

AUSA's Greater Augusta-Fort Gordon Chapter is a private, non-profit educational organization that supports America's Army - Regular Army, National Guard, Reserve, Civilians, Retirees, Government Civilians, Wounded Warriors, Veterans, and family members. AUSA fosters public support of the Army's role in national security and provides professional education and information programs.