John Sherman, chief information officer for the Department of Defense and a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, has approved the department’s new 2023-2027 Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation Plan.
The plan will guide the DOD as it carries out its work to recruit, develop and retain a strong cyber workforce, the department announced on Wednesday.
“Maintaining a highly skilled cyber workforce is vital to protecting our Nation against global cyber threats,” Sherman commented.
He elaborated on the plan, saying that it will “take progressive measures” to create a workforce that is “flexible and responsive in an ever-changing cyber domain.”
The strategy is built on four major goals – consistently conducting capability assessment and analysis processes, establishing an enterprise-wide talent management program, changing internal culture and encouraging collaboration – that will inform the execution of 22 objectives and 38 initiatives. Each step of the strategy is designed to help the DOD cultivate an agile, flexible and responsive cyber workforce.
To ensure the success of the plan, the DOD will continuously collect feedback to monitor its progress. Department components will build and adapt action planning efforts as needed to bring these goals to fruition.
“Our goal is to ensure we are not only finding and hiring a diverse group of highly skilled cyber professionals but also develop the tools, resources, and partnerships required to continue growing these individuals,” said Patrick Johnson, director of the Workforce Innovation Directorate.