Wor-Wic Community College has been awarded a $150,000 cybersecurity grant from EARN Maryland, a program by the Maryland Department of Labor. It is the only organization that has been awarded this type of grant for cybersecurity, as well as the first on the Eastern Shore.
The two-year grant will support the college’s CyberEARN project, which offers scholarships for education and certification in cybersecurity areas. The primary beneficiaries will be incumbent workers living or working on the Lower Shore who need additional training to advance in their field.
“We are thrilled to receive this EARN Maryland grant to provide our industry partners with a pathway for their employees to acquire essential cybersecurity training to meet increasing demands in this field,” said Deborah Casey, Ph.D., president of Wor-Wic. “One of our strategic priorities is to enhance institutional effectiveness through a high-quality workforce, and this funding will assist the college in achieving our mission to serve our local communities.”
The CyberEARN project offers a streamlined enrollment process for students and scholarship funding for cybersecurity-related credit courses. Successful students will receive vouchers for industry certification exams through CompTIA, including A+, Network+, Security+, CySA+ and others as the program evolves. Wor-Wic serves as a Pearson testing center, where students can take their CompTIA certification exams.
“Over the two-year period, our goal is to enroll 100 students in cybersecurity courses that provide timely skills related to system, network and application security,” said Kevin Justice, project director and assistant professor of computer studies. “The EARN grant enables us to help address the high demand for cybersecurity professionals across the region. If state funding continues for EARN, we hope to renew this grant yearly after the initial term of the project.”
To learn how your business can participate in this program, email CyberEARN@worwic.edu for information.
EARN Maryland is a state-funded, competitive workforce development grant program that is industry-led, regional in focus and a proven strategy for helping businesses cultivate the skilled workforce they need to compete. Wor-Wic is leveraging this innovative approach by using existing credit-based courses to meet workforce training needs.
This project is funded by the State of Maryland’s EARN Maryland Grant Program, administered by the Maryland Department of Labor.