750,000.

It’s a huge number, and it’s currently how many unfilled cybersecurity jobs there are, per a recent estimation from Google (News - Alert) (with data also provided by CyberSeek). With that many openings, you’d imagine an industry-traversing giant like Google could further a surge of training opportunities in order to fill the right roles with the right people. (In addition to its support via its already-offered cloud and network engineering courses, for example.)

And so, Google’s on the case.

Let’s break this down:

Recently,  Google announced the launch of its cybersecurity analyst training program; a new certificate for newer-generation professionals (under its existing Google Career Certificates initiative). As part of Grow with Google, as well, this Cybersecurity Certificate is a program custom-built by Google experts and is hosted by Coursera, online course provider that already partners with more than 275 companies and universities (e.g. IBM (News - Alert), AWS,  Atlassian, ADP, Intel,  DeepLearning.AI, the e-Learning Development Fund, Johns Hopkins University, Meta, Oracle, etcetera). Plus, as of this announcement, institutions like the University of Texas System and Purdue University (News - Alert) will actively offer Google’s course, too.

Per a Google representative: “Google remains committed to partnering with others to help build a robust cybersecurity workforce, expanding the pathways to join this critical field. The Google Cybersecurity Certificate provides job-seeking individuals with more extensive and affordable paths to careers in IT support, business intelligence, data analytics and beyond.”

“We know it’s imperative that the right people are in place to address an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape that affects everything from our emergency services to the economy,” the representative continued. “We’re committed to a new workforce, one equipped with the expertise needed to promote resilience against cyber attacks and to build a safer world.”

Though perhaps not the one-and-only answer to cyber problems, looking for a single Holy Grail of an option amidst today’s shifting technologies would be a narrow-sighted reach. Expanding perspectives to what’s out there is the goal; for people to learn how to combat cyber-enabled criminals and fraudsters (any adversaries to infrastructures most vital), especially given recent reports that claim cybercrime activities have cost the U.S. alone approximately $27.6 billion since 2018.

In this effort, Google also works to bridge significant opportunity gaps to bring strong diversity to the fore of cybersecurity; i.e. talent from Google.org grantees like NPower and Hiring our Heroes, as well as nonprofits like Cyversity, Raices Cyber and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). Google’s Career Certificate Employer Consortium, established several years back, aligns with organizations working to solve crucial skill gaps, too.

Thus far, it seems Google’s Cybersecurity Certificate will prepare learners for entry-level jobs (no prior experience required) to protect the data and systems that keep our present stabilized and our future hopeful.