As part of our ongoing efforts to empower and connect military veterans interested in working in the tech field, Cisco’s Veterans Program is excited to announce the Cisco Veterans Cyber Scholarship Program is now accepting applications. Part of CyberVetsUSA, the Cisco-led, skills-to-job consortium, the Cisco Veterans Cyber Scholarship Program provides free online cybersecurity training and certification to veterans, transitioning service members, National Guard members, Reservists, and military spouses.
Made possible through collaboration with industry-leading partners Amazon Web Services (AWS), (ISC)2, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, NetApp, and Network Development Group (NDG), the purpose of CyberVetsUSA is to attract the valued talent the military community brings to the private sector, like teamwork and integrity, by connecting veterans with cyber-related skills, certifications, and job opportunities with employers nationwide.
Designed to give military veterans and their spouses the skills and training they need to join the dynamic, high-demand field of cybersecurity, CyberVetsUSA prepares learners for careers as security analysts, digital forensics analysts, network auditors, and more.
Originally launching in 2017, CyberVetsUSA is helping to ensure that military veterans and their spouses become part of the cybersecurity workforce that is projected to have 3.5 million unfilled jobs by 2021. Last year alone, the program served nearly 300 military veterans and their spouses.
We recently heard from one of our CyberVets students, Mike McClain, U.S. military veteran and cybersecurity operations graduate, about his experience in the Cisco Veterans Cyber Scholarship Program:
“The training I received increased my understanding of network principles and gave me an enormous amount of knowledge in the cybersecurity field. Overall, the program was as rigorous and thorough as I could have hoped for.”
CyberVetsUSA is conducted in partnership with Onward to Opportunity, part of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University, which provides onboarding and career resources as well as additional learning tracks at no cost to veterans and military spouses.
The Cisco Veteran Cyber Scholarship Program offers free online access to highly sought-after courses in secure infrastructure and cybersecurity operations. To be accepted into the program, candidates take a brief skills assessment and select their desired career track, choosing between two Cisco Certificated tracks, either CCNA Security or CCNA Cyber Ops. The self-paced training typically takes between 12-14 weeks to complete. While there are no prerequisites required to enroll, candidates are highly encouraged to have some foundational IT/networking experience (e.g., A+, Network+, CCNA).
Students in the program also gain access to career resources and a network of employers and volunteers, through mentoring, career guidance, and job placement by way of Cisco’s Talent Bridge for Veterans. Using military and professional profiles, the Talent Bridge for Veterans search engine matches qualifications with thousands of jobs posted by over 250 technology employers including Cisco, CDW, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Red River, and many more in over 160 countries.
Candidates in the following priority states will be given special consideration where the CyberVetsUSA coalition is working with state officials to address workforce shortages: Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Do you qualify for the Cisco Veteran Cyber Scholarship Program or know someone who does? Please visit or share the Cisco Veteran Cyber Scholarship Program webpage to learn more and register for the next cohort. If you have questions or would like more information about the CyberVetsUSA program, please email cybervets@cisco.com.
how to apply on free online training ???
How we can apply for this training program, kindly share the details
Here's where to apply for the Cisco Veteran Cyber Scholarships: https://custom.cvent.com/AF065572DBE74847B67B891094106946/files/ffd22f459c2641cb8fe258199b7f1454.pdf
Gena and Cisco, this looks like a great opportunity and what a great service you are providing to our Vets! Would a Vet honorably discharged from the Air National Guard in 1987 qualify? Thanks!
Please check out this flier to learn more about opportunities for veterans, including Talent Bridge for Vets, which connects veterans with employment opportunities: https://bit.ly/2C3lDsX
I am faithfully serving U.S. DoD and arm forces during the past 5 years and was a former Cisco employee. I am currently a Cisco Champion in 2019 with active Top Security Clearance passion for technologies and planting a forest.
One of our biggest challenges is to train our talent military personnel and their families for a tangible future beyond Cisco training and employment opportunities.
I immensely enjoy to drive your Cisco Cisco’s Veterans Program and Cisco Veterans Cyber Scholarship Program.
If you are interested, please join me at 9493312132 or netteligent@hotmail.com
Thanks for reaching out! I will be in touch to connect.
When will this program open up again? The above link says that the application is closed and no longer taking responses. I am currently paying for Cisco NetAcad myself through a community college and it is taking a long time to make progress.
Will this program spread further. I am currently in CT, and I am working on my routing and switching but want to add security also.
@Jackson King – while the Cisco CyberVets training is currently focused in target states where with a high demand of IT/cyber job openings as well as a significant military population, we do plan to expand the program in the coming year. Meanwhile, there are a number of opportunities for free cyber training available through our partners… I invite you to check out some of the free training resources available through our partner Onward to Opportunity, including course offerings from other industry partners through CyberVetsUSA. If you fill out the form here we will be happy to make the connection: https://www.cvent.com/surveys/Welcome.aspx?s=fc72b8b4-8b94-4e48-8395-aaa2fb3f6239
Additionally, you can also self enroll in cyber training available through Cisco Networking Academy here: https://www.netacad.com/courses/security
Good luck!
I emailed the Cisco Cyber Event Scholarship and received an auto-generated email asking me to stand by. I never received a follow up email. I am still standing by. It has been over a month.