Rebuilding America’s Middle Class (RAMC), a coalition of community colleges, issued the following statement in support of the National Community College Cybersecurity Challenge Act (NCCCCA) of 2022, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) that would provide new opportunities for students to gain the skills needed to pursue a high-wage, upwardly mobile career in cybersecurity:

This legislation will help support efforts of States, community colleges and the private sector to address our nation’s critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals. The NCCCCA will also provide new opportunities for students, particularly those from underrepresented populations, to gain the skills needed to pursue a high-wage, upwardly mobile career in cybersecurity.

The legislation will help support many of the challenges facing community colleges in building and sustaining cybersecurity degree programs. This includes promoting strategies to recruit and retain qualified faculty, providing tuition and wrap-around services for students pursuing such degrees. Also important, the NCCCCA promotes engagement with the private sector to support increased collaboration with community colleges to ensure courses remain up-to-date and relevant and to create work experience opportunities for students in these programs – which we know is a critical part of any successful program.

Although more and more community colleges across the nation have created new programs around cybersecurity, these grants, along with the coordinated support and focus of States and employers, will serve as a major catalyst for expanding these efforts.

To read the letter in full, click here.