Skills shortage in the cybersecurity industry has led US-based Fortinet – a global leader in the field – to offer workshops locally to businesses to upskill their IT capabilities.
During the Technology Conference organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) on Thursday, Regional Account Manager for Fortinet, Bhagwat Persaud spoke on the skill shortages in the industry.
Fortinet has made a commitment to train one million people by 2026. Technical workshops have been facilitated in Guyana to equip businesses with tools to employ proper cybersecurity mechanisms.
Headquartered in the United States, Fortinet is a leader in cybersecurity and networking innovation with over 13,000 employees in several countries. Their networking solutions are most-deployed, most-patented and amongst the most validated in the industry.
“In the cybersecurity industry, Fortinet has made a commitment to closing the skills gap by supporting organisations through this challenging period of skill shortages by pledging to train one million people by 2026. We are on our way to achieve that before that time. What we have been doing in Guyana is doing technical workshops specifically focused on cybersecurity for business enterprises and small enterprises as well,” Bhagwat outlined.
Fortinet has inked an agreement with the College of Science and Technology in Trinidad and Tobago, where the training platform will be provided to young professionals in cyber security. Bhagwat said the intention is collaborate with institutions in Guyana as well.
“Guyana is on the rise and we also need and are looking forward to work with institutions in Guyana to utilise our Fortinet Academy and contribute to the training and development of professionals in cybersecurity.”
According to the World Economic Forum, cybersecurity is among the top strategically emphasised skills for the workforce. Yet, there is a shortage of 3.4 million cybersecurity experts to support today’s global economy.
