Immersive Labs and Accenture Collaborate to Solve the Global Cyber Talent Shortage

Industry leaders team up to launch “Cyber Million” program, dedicated to filling one million entry-level cybersecurity operations jobs over the next decade

Immersive Labs, a leader in people-centric cyber resilience, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) are working together to launch the Cyber Million program that aims to solve the cybersecurity talent deficit by increasing access to one million entry-level cybersecurity operations jobs over the next decade.

The beta version of the program, rolling out today, will be powered by the Immersive Labs platform with Accenture Security serving as the first foundational partner. The program is now available to other organizations seeking to make cybersecurity operations roles available on the platform to a diverse pool of candidates, and users may access the platform to begin growing their skills.

The cybersecurity industry currently faces an enormous talent shortage with an estimated 3.4 million roles currently unfilled worldwide. Additionally, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 report in collaboration with Accenture, 59% of business leaders and 64% of cyber leaders ranked talent recruitment and retention as a key challenge for managing cyber resilience. And, less than half of respondents reported having the people and skills needed today to respond to cyberattacks.

Cyber Million will help fill these open roles, reducing barriers to entry for job seekers by increasing access to opportunities and uncovering hidden talent. Through an emphasis on real-world skills, upskilling, and aptitude over traditional evaluation methods – such as education, certification, and experience – the program will modernize the way organizations recruit for cybersecurity roles globally.

Unlike legacy hiring modes, the program will take a practical, evidence-based, skills-first approach to recruiting. Anyone over the age of 16 will be able to register for the program and complete a series of curated hands-on exercises and labs that match the skill set requirements of open roles. Once candidates successfully complete these labs, skilled individuals may apply to open employment partner roles. The program is designed to be flexible, allowing candidates to complete courses at their own pace.

“Cybersecurity talent is everywhere, and it can be developed if those eager to learn are given the opportunity, whether or not they come from a technical background,” said Robert Boyce, Global Lead of Cyber Resilience, Accenture. “We upskill our own people using the Immersive Labs program approach and we’re proud to build on our relationship to help get more people excited about starting a career in cybersecurity. Solving the cyber talent crisis requires this kind of industry-wide collaboration and an innovative approach. We’re excited to take this important step toward building the future of cybersecurity talent globally.”

“We founded Immersive Labs based on the idea that people from various backgrounds – both with or without a formal education – can excel in cybersecurity if given the right opportunities,” said James Hadley, CEO and Founder, Immersive Labs. “Our Cyber Million program that we’re building in partnership with Accenture, will help organizations discover hidden talent, increase diversity across the workforce, and build resilience against cyberattacks, and we welcome other organizations to join us.”

For the past six years, Immersive Labs has offered platform access to veterans, students, and the neurodivergent community through Digital Cyber Academies (DCAs). Cyber Million represents the next evolution of this program, with thousands of DCA candidates already migrated to the new platform.

To learn more about joining the program as an employment partner, please visit, https://www.immersivelabs.com/cybermillion.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent and innovation led company with 738,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Accenture Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients succeed and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Accenture Security is a leading provider of end-to-end cybersecurity services, including strategy, protection, resilience and industry-specific cyber services. We bring security innovation, coupled with global scale and a worldwide delivery capability through our network of Cyber Fusion Centers. Helped by our team of highly skilled professionals, we enable clients to innovate safely, build cyber resilience and grow with confidence. Visit us at accenture.com/security.

About Immersive Labs

Immersive Labs is the leader in people-centric cyber resilience. We help organizations continuously assess, build, and prove their cyber workforce resilience for teams across the entire organization, from front-line cybersecurity and development teams to Board-level executives. We provide realistic simulations and hands-on cybersecurity labs to evaluate individual and team capabilities and decision-making against the latest threats. Organizations can now prove their cyber resilience by measuring their readiness compared to industry benchmarks, building team capabilities, and demonstrating risk reduction and compliance with data-backed evidence. Immersive Labs is trusted by the world’s largest organizations and governments, including Citi, Pfizer, Humana, HSBC, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the UK National Health Service. We are backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Summit Partners, Insight Partners, Citi Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures, and Menlo Ventures.

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