A Growing Demand

The US is experiencing unprecedented growth in the cybersecurity industry.

The demand for entry-level staff has never been higher. Today, there are approximately 350,000 unfilled positions in the cybersecurity1 industry. As demand continues to exceed the supply of available workers, the United States is on pace to hit a half-million or more unfilled cybersecurity positions by 2021.

abilIT Admission Eligibility

Person with disabilities with either: High school diploma, GED, or equivalent TABE cut scores.

TABE cut scores minimums:

• R: 576
• M: 596
• Language: 584
• Alternatively, may qualify by taking a Melwood administered VALSPAR test
• Veterans living with post-traumatic stress or service-related injury

Upon completion, participants will have gained:

• The skills to compete for entry-level Network Operations Center (NOC) or Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst positions.
• The ability to sit for A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications drives abilIT’s six-month timeline.
• The soft skills necessary to land a job and work effectively as part of a project team.

Neurodiversity

Encouraging Employers to Embrace Neurodiversity

As part of this program, we will be continuing to engage employers to educate them on neurodiversity. Our “Melwood Challenge” campaign challenges businesses to think outside the box and see our workers as a potential workforce solution. Our goal is to scale the abilIT program with the help of philanthropic and corporate support to provide a reliable pipeline of workers in this high-demand industry.

Industry Partners

Melwood partnered with industry leaders like Cybrary to provide the technical training.

Cybrary is the creator of the most extensive massive open online course (MOOC) in the cybersecurity arena.

“Cybrary is proud to team up with Melwood for the abilIT program. Our platform empowers individuals of all abilities and phases of their lives ‘skill-up’ and better their position in the workforce. Participants gain entry-level IT expertise and self-assessment tools as they get ready to enter the cyber-security job market,” says Cybrary CEO Ralph Sita.”