Goal 1
Work with the communities to build a regional alliance to co-design opportunities that expand cybersecurity education infrastructure and conditions for workforce development through Digital Promise’s Collaborative Innovation model [link].
Current
Alabama Cybersecurity Pathways
Part of Cybersecurity Pathways
Digital Promise launched our work in East Alabama by supporting the Talladega County Board of Education in building a Cybersecurity Pathways program—laying the groundwork for regional cross-sector alliances and scalable school-to-work pipelines across the state.
Audiences
Learning Environments
Why Alabama?
Alabama is facing a shortage of cybersecurity talent, with over 11,000 cybersecurity job openings statewide. More than 3,000 of these positions require a CompTIA Security+ credential, a globally recognized certification earned by paying an exam fee and passing a rigorous test.
A regional workforce report shows that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); information technology (IT); and finance offer East Alabama’s highest-paying careers, averaging $80,000 a year compared to Alabama’s median annual income of $68,410. Local economic leaders list IT and STEM careers as high-demand fields that provide a reliable, living wage for residents.
East Alabama Regional Cybersecurity Alliance (EARCA)
About the Alliance
The East Alabama Regional Cybersecurity Alliance (EARCA) is a collaboration between Digital Promise, school districts, postsecondary institutions, and industry partners in East Alabama to build a school-to-work pathway for youth into the ever-growing cybersecurity field. The alliance supports rural youth in gaining job-ready skills to enter the growing cybersecurity workforce and partners with employers to secure regional talent pipelines.
Goals of EARCA
Through EARCA, business and university partners are working in lockstep with education ecosystem partners to ensure that students have access to mentors, internships, and postsecondary opportunities—key components of Digital Promise’s Cybersecurity Pathways programs. EARCA aims to:
Goal 2
Establish alignment across industry, K-12 programming, and higher education partners leveraging the NICE Framework.
Goal 3
Expand access to cybersecurity courses, establish cybersecurity summer earn-to-learn opportunities and paid internships, and support certifications for regional youth and career switchers.
How EARCA Formed
The Talladega County Board of Education (TCBOE) has led powerful partnerships with employers, nonprofits, universities, and government agencies in the East Alabama region to create opportunities for gainful employment for students. In 2023, TCBOE launched its cybersecurity program as a part of Digital Promise’s Inaugural Cybersecurity Pathways Cohort. Through the initiative, TCBOE built a workforce pathway for rural students to gain credentials and employment in cybersecurity after graduation.
Recognizing the significant impact of students’ career readiness in the advancement of the East Alabama regional economy, TCBOE and its employer partners were motivated to expand access to cybersecurity career pathways across the region and neighboring school districts, including Anniston City, Etowah County, Oxford City, St. Clair County, Sylacauga City, Talladega City, and Talladega County. Now, through the East Alabama Regional Cybersecurity Alliance (EARCA), the area has the opportunity to strengthen the region’s economy by creating viable cybersecurity employment opportunities through the creation of a cybersecurity workforce ecosystem.
Through EARCA, this initiative addresses both the cybersecurity industry’s need for new talent and creates pathways for students to gain workforce skills for the future.
Funding provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology through the Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development (RAMPS Program) 2024-NIST-RAMPS-01.
EARCA Members
Meet the Alliance
With funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, EARCA builds on the partnership between local industry, universities, and K-12 education in creating career pathways for students in cybersecurity. In addition to a cybersecurity pathway program for high school students, EARCA will establish a workforce pipeline connecting the K-12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors with support from community and government agencies in East Alabama.
District Members
Industry, Community, Higher Education Partners
Funding provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology through the Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development (RAMPS Program) 2024-NIST-RAMPS-01.
Report
From Rural Districts to Statewide Pathways
Digital Promise is helping communities reimagine workforce development by building capacity for developing career-connected pathways. In Alabama, we are supporting school districts, students, families, higher education, and industry to launch Cybersecurity Pathways programs that are resulting in industry-recognized credentials and career-connected opportunities.
“From Rural Districts to Statewide Pathways: A Blueprint for Scaling Cybersecurity Workforce Development Through Regional Collaboration shares some of our key learnings from Alabama. In this white paper, you will find:
- An overview of the Cybersecurity Pathways initiative in Alabama
- A scalable framework for building sustainable cross-sector pathways
- A theory of action with the policy and practice levers necessary to support statewide replication
- A roadmap to extend this approach beyond cybersecurity into other high-demand industries
Read the report to see how Digital Promise and partners are expanding opportunity and addressing urgent workforce needs nationwide.
