Although well documented and studied, the projected cyber skills gap remains a major challenge for the tech industry. According to a recent ESG study, 53% of IT professionals report that their business is facing a skilled labor shortage. With this in mind, technical leaders, academics, and government officials must do more than create programs to inform current employees about cyber issues. . We must also offer work experiences and skills to attract and engage our future cyber workers. I have been involved in cybersecurity for over 20 years and I know that cyber defense skills are really put to the test in the real world. This happens every year in the Red Team of Volunteer Professionals of the National Cyber Defense Competition for two years. Presented by Raytheon, more than 230 colleges and universities compete each year to test their cybersecurity prowess, resulting in one-round eliminations in regional competitions across the country and 10 finalists. Qualification for the national round. This is an extremely exciting process for students and every year, from my experience as a Red Team member, I learned that we needed more of this type of event. Here's why: Real-world experience cannot be compared in class. In simple terms, learning is not the same as doing. In a competitive environment, teams are forced to think and identify solutions under pressure. This kind of quick problem solving and collaboration is learned through hands-on experience. As part of the competition, students are required to operate and manage a network infrastructure similar to that operated by commercial companies. The classification is based on its ability to minimize system infiltration, keep critical services running, and prevent confidential data leakage. By competing with a red team made up of oversized security experts. Technology companies and government organizations, students are faced with the reality of the race against the clock. Image Credit: Shutterstock (© Shutterstock) Working with Suite C One of the most fascinating event parts may not directly concern attacks and defense. To participate in the national competition and ultimately win the title of champion, these students must perform a task that involves many cyber information experts: report a mock C-suite framework of the next incident and the proposed response. These mock interviews invite students to speak in simple terms while continuing to indicate the appropriate level of urgency. An essential skill for all cyber experts, how to explain how the attack happened and what is done to solve the problem, is a conversation that should not only take place with the leaders of C-Suite. but also with the boards of directors. Given the increasing number of attacks against large companies in the past two years, boards of directors are becoming increasingly involved in cybersecurity measures. And that's a necessary change, because a recent Raytheon study found that 68% of respondents say their boards of directors are unaware of what their company is doing to prevent or mitigate the consequences of their business. 39, a cyber attack. By training students with this skill before starting their career, they will have concrete and specific experience that many experienced security experts are missing today. Ready for work, the modern workforce, whatever its industry, must be in a "cyber-esteem" state of mind. Competencies like the NCCDC allow students to acquire advanced skills that make them the best candidates for hiring in the world's largest technology companies and in the public sector. It's not just about limiting downtime, maintaining firewalls, or creating tickets - it's a combination of all of these and an additional challenge related to time constraints. Working against seasoned cyber-professionals, these students gain experience that goes beyond classroom training and sets themselves apart from other candidates. In fact, many NCCDC competitors have been hired by companies involved in the competition after seeing them demonstrate their skills in practical, real-life conditions. As a person working in the cybersecurity industry today, I see both the sophistication of attacks and the attack surface. increasing.This requires not only more cybersecurity workers, but also those who can work hard, bringing advanced skills on day one. Competitions like NCCDC help train skilled, technical and creative students who can easily translate their expertise into value for any successful organization. Hire them.