SANS Cyber Workforce Academy Provides Free Training and Certifications for Maryland Residents Interested in Cybersecurity Careers

Bethesda, MD, August 9, 2022 – SANS Institute, the global leader in cybersecurity training and certifications, today announced it would be opening a new SANS Cyber Workforce Academy for Maryland residents. There are nearly 700,000 cybersecurity jobs unfilled across the United States. Local Maryland jobseekers with little to no cybersecurity experience can quickly gain these in-demand skills to launch a new career in just months by applying to the SANS Cyber Workforce Academy. The program is state-funded through the EARN MD grant and provides free accelerated training and globally recognized certifications in the fastest-growing industry in the US today, cybersecurity.

"The Maryland Department of Labor is pleased to support the SANS Cyber Workforce Academy through our EARN Maryland program,” said Tiffany P. Robinson, Maryland Secretary of Labor. “The students enrolled in this program are earning in-demand, industry-recognized certifications that will help Maryland employers remain competitive in today's marketplace."

“SANS is committed to the economic growth of the Maryland community,” said Max Shuftan, Director of Mission Programs & Partnerships at SANS. “With an average program graduate salary of $90,000, there has never been a better time to learn the industry and enter the workforce as a cybersecurity professional.

”Two separate tracks are available, Reskilling and Upskilling, with both options open to Maryland residents only. The Reskilling Academy is recommended for individuals not currently working in cybersecurity. The Upskilling Academy is recommended for individuals with IT experience or limited cybersecurity skills to upskill into an in-demand position. Each track provides self-paced training with support from technical mentors and their cohorts, forming lifelong connections as they work through the material together.

Academy career services support aims to have participants interview and land a job before or by the time they have taken their last GIAC certification. Interested candidates should complete the web application form here.

About SANS Institute

The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. Today, SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest provider of cybersecurity training and certification to professionals in government and commercial institutions world-wide. Renowned SANS instructors teach more than 60 courses at in-person and virtual cybersecurity events and on demand. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, validates practitioner skills through more than 35 hands-on, technical certifications in cybersecurity. The SANS Technology Institute, a regionally accredited independent subsidiary, offers master’s and bachelor’s degrees, graduate certificates, and an undergraduate certificate in cybersecurity. SANS Security Awareness, a division of SANS, provides organizations with a complete and comprehensive security awareness solution, enabling them to manage their “human” cybersecurity risk easily and effectively. SANS also delivers a wide variety of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, webcasts, podcasts, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system–the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to support and educate the global information security community. www.sans.org