(ISC)² Invests in the Professional Development of Global Cybersecurity Workforce

(ISC)² – the world’s largest nonprofit membership association of certified cybersecurity professionals – has this week announced the founding of its Professional Development Institute (PDI) to combat one of the largest challenges facing the cybersecurity community today – a global shortageof skilled and trained professionals to defend organizations against the evolving onslaught of cyber threats. Provided as a free portfolio of course offerings to (ISC)² members and associates, PDI will help enhance their skills and abilities by providing access to rich continuing professional education (CPE) opportunities that augment the knowledge they’ve gained throughout their careers.
“For 30 years (ISC)² has been preparing cybersecurity professionals for our rigorous certifications, and now we’re also investing in the essential learning that comes after certification,” said (ISC)² CEO David Shearer, CISSP. “The Professional Development Institute is a recognition that cybersecurity education is a lifelong journey, and that achieving professional certification, while important, is only one stop along the way. These new CPE opportunities are enriching and rewarding and provide valuable, topical insights that will help our members continue to grow and progress.”
The multi-year strategy for PDI encompasses the addition of 18 new staff over the next two years, joining the more than 160 existing global employees of the association. These new staff will manage content development, curriculum building, quality control, communications, logistics and administration for the institute. The association will also build out a 765- square-foot video production studio in its Clearwater, Fla, headquarters to produce content for courses featuring leading cybersecurity professionals.
PDI builds on the successful 2018 pilot launch of three professional development courses provided at no additional fee to members and associates. Topics included GDPR for Security Professionals, DevSecOps and Building a Strong Culture of Security. Focus groups and member surveys provided insight into the professional development needs of security professionals and the results have and will continue to inform the evolution of PDI’s curriculum strategy. Member subject matter experts will guide the development of the course material, supported by a team of highly-qualified adult education experts and creative professionals. This will enable (ISC)² to develop a robust catalogue of CPE courses and offerings with the ability to continuously refresh that catalogue based upon clearly articulated member need. In 2019 alone there will be up to 30 new courses released as part of the portfolio.
Courses Designed for Working Professionals
PDI courses will help (ISC)² members and associates enhance their professional skills through convenient, high quality education. Making the courses available in an easily-accessible online format will help members maintain a work-life balance.
“Cybersecurity is not a nine-to-five profession, and one of the biggest challenges facing our members is that it can be difficult for them to find time and opportunities to continue to enhance their skills while also dealing with a dynamic threat environment,” said Shearer. “Time constraints and cost are two burdens that we’re trying to alleviate for members and associates with PDI, while ensuring that these CPE opportunities have learning objectives that are clearly aligned with current industry challenges.”
“There has been demand from (ISC)² members for a wide array of professional development opportunities for education and CPE purposes. There are many such opportunities within the industry, but they are not readily accessible or only available at a significant cost, so I am very excited to see that (ISC)² is offering these development programs,” said James McQuiggan, CISSP, Product & Solutions Security Officer for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Chapter President for the (ISC)² Central Florida Chapter and (ISC)² Advisory Council North America member. “I had the honor and pleasure to provide guidance for the content of one of the initial courses and shared my experience and expertise in its development, because I agree with the focus on practical application of security principles. Many of us who are (ISC)² certification holders need opportunities like PDI to stay educated and up to speed on the latest threats, techniques and tools.”
source isc2
Industry: Cyber Security News

Latest Jobs
-
- Contact 12 month- Security Operations- Crowdstrike Falcon Insight EDR / Analyst.
- United Kingdom
- Dependent on experience
-
Security Operations engineer / Analyst with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight EDR experience for a 12 month contract. Experienced Contractor with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight: Endpoint detection and Response (EDR) experience needed - 12 month rolling project. Implementation, configuration and Analyst experience needed with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight: (EDR) Migration project- relocating capability internationally. technically implementing, configuration of that that migration and then transition to BAU role monitoring. DCL Search exclusive associate Project.
-
- SailPoint Consultant
- London
- Upto £75,000 plus benefits
-
SailPoint Consultant is needed for an expanding Financial Service business, this is an exciting time to join the Business as they are in the Process of deploying both IAM and PAM solutions and this consultant will form a key part of the IAM team Location can be flexible but would require the individual to come into the London office a couple of times a month for team meetings and face to face project reviews Duties include · Engage in the Identity & Access Management project to deliver SailPoint IdentityNow and Privileged Access Management · On-board applications and users into IAM tools and customise or configure integrations as required · Regularly review, secure and recertify privileged roles in applications, databases and operating systems · Implement least privilege, just-in-time access, password rotation and vaulting wherever possible · Migrate application authentication to Single Sign-On through the use of SAML and OAuth · Implement and enforce the use of MFA where possible, focusing on critical applications and risky sign-ins · Provide technical support to Centrify and SailPoint users Key experience required: Previous experience with SailPoint, including integrating and deploying into a business, onboarding users and applications, supporting users and performing manual administration tasks. Experience with SAML and OAuth to migrate applications to Single Sign-on. If you are interested in hearing more please reach out to me for more information
-
- Centrify Consultant
- London
- Upto £75,000 plus benefits
-
A Privileged Access Management Consultant is needed for an expanding Financial Service business, this is an exciting time to join the Business as they are in the Process of deploying a Centrify PAM solution,, this consultant will form a key part of the team Location can be flexible but would require the individual to come into the London office a couple of times a month for team meetings and face to face project reviews Duties include · On-board applications and users into PAM tools and customise or configure integrations as required · Regularly review, secure and recertify privileged roles in applications, databases and operating systems · Implement least privilege, just-in-time access, password rotation and vaulting wherever possible · Migrate application authentication to Single Sign-On through the use of SAML and OAuth · Implement and enforce the use of MFA where possible, focusing on critical applications and risky sign-ins · Provide technical support to Centrify users You would also gain expsoure with the IAM toolset as part of an Identity Access deployment. Key experience required: Previous experience with a PAM tool (Centrify would be an added bonus but not essential) including integrating and deploying into a business, onboarding users and applications, supporting users and performing manual administration tasks. Experience with SAML and OAuth to migrate applications to Single Sign-on. If you are interested in hearing more please reach out to me for more information
-
- SOC team lead- Deputy SOC manager - Managed Security Services, Bradford. Exclusive
- Bradford
- £70,000 +
-
SOC team lead- Deputy SOC Manager - Managed Cyber Security Services, Bradford. Exclusive Identifier project. Technical team lead needed to join a Managed Cyber Security Services business. The role will be a hands on lead role and technical escalation point for the team. You will also be responsible for leading, mentoring, growing and developing the team. You will be the deputy SOC manager and be involved in the strategic growth of the capability. A managed security services background is essential, specifically within a managed security operations capability. Current hands on support experience across Firewall, SIEM, Incident Response is essential.