The Information Technology & Cybersecurity sector is one of CCW’s 10 high-demand sectors. For each of these high-demand sectors, a CCW Sector Leader develops and supports the implementation of a strategy to meet the workforce needs of employers in their sector through targeted expansion and development of career connected learning programs.

The CCW Sector Leader for Information Technology & Cybersecurity is Computing for All. (Primary contact: Mandira Virmani, Director Program Development, mandira@computingforall.org)

Employers in the Information Technology & Cybersecurity sector share these themes related to workforce development:

  • Employers are looking for experience: most entry-level jobs require 1-3 years of experience, which students coming out of college degree programs don’t have. It is important to build in experiences that offer students opportunities for work-based learning, such as capstone projects, hands-on project work, Career Launch internships, and apprenticeships.
  • Employers also ask for soft skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, communication, etc. Many employers have told us that these are more valuable than tech skills, which they can teach. These are important, as most tech jobs require you to work in teams and collaborate with others. Students can be trained in these skills via the work-based experiences mentioned above.
  • Many smaller employers need funding to pay for interns as well as the cost of running an internship program. Many employers would take on interns, but they cannot afford to pay them and/or for the cost of managing the program.
  • Industry credentials for certain roles such as CompTIA A+ for entry-level Customer User Support roles are very important.

Employers in the Information Technology & Cybersecurity sector indicate these occupations are high-priority for the expansion or development of education and training programs to meet their hiring needs:

  • Computer User Support Specialist/Cloud Support Engineer
  • Data Center Technician
  • Software Developer
  • Cyber / Information Security Engineer
  • Data Analyst

Interested in learning more about the career connected learning programs that can help meet these needs? You can see a brief overview here. Take a look at the full 2024 Information Technology & Cybersecurity sector strategy for more detailed information and recommendations.

For more information, please reach out to the Sector Leader using the contact information above. You can also access the original 2023 Information Technology & Cybersecurity sector strategy here, which provides more detailed data and information about the sector.