The US government this week announced the removal of “unnecessary degree requirements” in favor of skills-based hiring as part of an aggressive push to fill half-a-million open cybersecurity jobs.

The ‘Serve for America’ initiative, announced by National Cyber Director Harry Coker, removes the four-year degree requirement in federal IT contracts and will push agencies to hire based on experience, certifications, and aptitude tests. 

“Our nation has a critical need for cyber talent. Today, there are approximately 500,000 – half a million! – open cyber jobs in the United States and that number is only going to grow as more services and products go online with the expansion of technologies like artificial intelligence,” Coker said in a note announcing the initiative.

“We are working to remove unnecessary degree requirements, moving toward a skills-based approach that emphasizes candidates’ ability to perform a job, rather than where they acquired their skills,” he added.

Coker said federal agencies are already “leading the way by transitioning information technology positions to skills-based practices.”

The policy shift is meant to make it easier for government agencies to compete with the private sector for cybersecurity talent.

Coker said the initiative also includes an expansion of work-based learning through registered apprenticeships citing a fresh $244 million investment for registered apprenticeships in growing industries, including cybersecurity.

The National Cyber Director, who previously held leadership positions in the U.S. Navy, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA) said his agency is working with local governments, academia, and private sector partners to manage the nation’s cybersecurity skills shortage.

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