The 2012 Information Technology Workforce Assessment for Cybersecurity (ITWAC) is being released publicly today – the first report of its kind giving a snapshot of the current Federal civilian IT workforce with cybersecurity responsibilities. The data collected under this assessment is crucial to informing strategic workforce planning and cybersecurity training programs at Federal agencies and will help inform efforts to ensure the Federal Government is capable of developing cybersecurity professionals to defend Federal systems and networks against growing cyber threats.

Through the ITWAC Reporting Tool, participating Federal departments and agencies can view and analyze their ITWAC data across several important workforce development topics, including current and optimal proficiency levels in Specialty Areas, time spent in Specialty Areas, work experience, education, certifications, and demographics. Each participating Federal department or agencies has online access to the ITWAC Reporting Tool through their self-identified points of contacts (POCs).

The ITWAC data can be used by participating federal agencies and departments to assist with understanding their agency’s current IT workforce skills, identifying skill gaps, as well as selecting the appropriate training to mitigate these gaps. Further, demographic data illustrates each participating agencies’ current workforce supply as well as provides an understanding of the cybersecurity workforce pipeline (e.g., the age of the workforce and the percentage eligible for retirement).

The ITWAC was coordinated by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) in conjunction with the CIO Council. The ITWAC was developed utilizing the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework and sought to collect data describing the composition and capabilities of the federal civilian cybersecurity workforce. The assessment also assists Federal department and agencies by identifying the scope of the cybersecurity workforce pipeline, establishing a baseline of current cybersecurity capabilities and proficiencies among the Federal workforce and identifying general training needs of the cybersecurity workforce.

The assessment was distributed to over 200,000 Federal Information Technology civilian workforce personnel in 39 occupational series who perform cybersecurity duties. It was open to personnel from October 22 – November 16, 2012 (and January 15 – 31, 2013 for personnel in the Department of Defense). Just under 23,000 employees from 52 federal departments and agencies completed the assessment.