How to maximize the impact of your cybersecurity training budget
Continue reading
Assess your training needs and priorities
Before investing in cybersecurity training, ensure your spending addresses your team's most pressing needs. Every organization is different, but according to the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the top 10 skills hiring managers are currently looking for are:
...Cybersecurity training is essential to giving your team the tools to stay ahead of emerging technologies and maintain a secure organization. However, it’s also an area where the industry struggles to keep up.
According to a study by ESG, more than 70% of organizations report being impacted by cybersecurity skills shortages, which result in issues such as increased workload on existing staff and the inability to fully learn some security technologies. More than half of those say the problem has worsened over the past two years.
The good news is that organizations can take recommended actions to address these challenges. This guide focuses on helping you maximize your enterprise team's cybersecurity training budget so you can make the biggest impact.
Assess your training needs and priorities
Before investing in cybersecurity training, ensure your spending addresses your team's most pressing needs. Every organization is different, but according to the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the top 10 skills hiring managers are currently looking for are:
- Cloud computing (32%)
- Communication skills (31%)
- Risk assessment, analysis and management (31%)
- Security analysis (28%)
- Security engineering (28%)
- Governance, risk management and compliance (26%)
- Application security (24%)
- Security administration (24%)
- SecOps (21%)
- Identity and access management (20%)
The good news is that we have two decades of experience helping leaders like you align your training priorities with your company's goals and budget constraints. Whether you're a mid-size organization or a large services-delivery enterprise with contractual demands, we can customize a program that aligns with your business and security goals.
FREE role-guided training plans
Maximize cost savings with Infosec
In the long run, saving money comes down to empowering your team and cybersecurity system with skilled professionals who stay with your company. For your organization, this involves making sure you have:
- Fewer skills gaps. By funding employees cybersecurity education, it's far easier to close problematic skills gaps. When asked how to address the skills gap, the ESG survey found that higher pay and incentives, such as paying for certifications, were the most effective steps an organization could take.
- Higher ROI through employee retention. The data is equally clear regarding how to keep cybersecurity employees satisfied: Teams are happier when they can work with highly trained staff and get support in advancing their careers. By supporting their advancement, you give them a powerful reason to stay with your organization. As a result, you can chop your recruiting expenses and invest fewer resources in training new workers.
"We are finding that retention rates are going up in our cybersecurity roles because people feel like they're being listened to,” says James "Slim" Beamon, a senior cybersecurity program manager at Leidos. “They're being provided opportunities that they may not have had before."
Infosec has been a leader in cybersecurity training for more than twenty years. We understand how to work within your budget. We can offer many organizations volume pricing, with savings of up to 30% based on the number of students you need to train.
We also offer flat-fee enrollment for select boot camps to make it easy to purchase and move through the procurement process. For instance, you can enroll your team into a mix of 50+ boot camps (see the full list) for a flat fee of $24,995. Your team then chooses the courses and schedule formats that best fit their needs.
FREE role-guided training plans
Leverage Infosec's industry expertise for better outcomes
With Infosec, we'll help your team navigate the exam — and build skills that stay with them when the exam is over. Infosec instructors have at least 10 years of industry experience, which helps ensure that your staff receives high-quality, cost-effective training.
- Industry-leading pass rates. Infosec has decades of experience helping learners earn certifications and gain job-critical skills. Our pass rate is an industry-leading 92%, meaning more than nine out of 10 Infosec trainees who sit for their exam pass it.
- Outcome-backed training. With our Exam Pass Guarantee, if any member of your team doesn't pass their exam on the first attempt, they get a second attempt for free (for most boot camps). They can also retake the training for free for up to one year.
- Minimal risk. Our Knowledge Transfer Guarantee provides peace of mind when investing in your team. If one of your employees leaves your company within three months of obtaining their certification, Infosec will train another employee tuition-free for up to a year.
- Customized training programs. We can customize your team's training to meet your organization's most important skills goals. We even provide capstone projects tailored to fit your enterprise's needs. This way, you can measure students' outcomes and help your organization achieve its goals.
- Long-term savings. Establishing a long-term partnership with Infosec can provide ongoing cost savings. We value your success and offer loyalty discounts for repeat customers.
As a trusted industry partner, we regularly work with vendors like CompTIA, ISACA and AWS — and in some cases have our internal SMEs contribute to creating new and updated certifications.
Let Infosec help you with multiple funding and tax exclusions to stretch your budget
Infosec has trained more than 100,000 security professionals. We're training experts and understand exactly what it takes to get your team the skills and knowledge they need. To save even more money, you may want to explore:
- Tax benefits for training. When you get skills training for your employees that helps them excel at their jobs, the expenses may be deductible. The government supports investments like cybersecurity training because it benefits the overall economic landscape.
- Funding sources for veterans. Programs designed to help pay for veterans' training costs exist. For instance, Infosec has partnered with VetJobs to give veterans and their spouses cybersecurity training scholarships.
- Education benefits management programs. Education benefits management companies, such as EdAssist and Guild Education, set up partnerships with organizations to help their employees get the training they need. You choose the courses you need, and the education benefit management company facilitates payment for you.
- The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is designed to strengthen the American public workforce system by helping those with barriers to employment get high-quality jobs. The program also supports employers when it comes to hiring and keeping skilled employees.
Contact an Infosec representative if you have any questions about these programs.
FREE role-guided training plans
Start saving with Infosec
Maximizing your cybersecurity budget with Infosec comes down to assessing your needs, using the training to reduce skills gaps and improve employee retention, and taking advantage of Infosec's experience as a trusted partner.
By pursuing cost-effective training options, you build a stronger cybersecurity defense system driven by talented, knowledgeable individuals. This helps you mitigate security risks and prevent threats from impacting your operations and reputation.
Contact us to talk about your team training goals with Infosec Boot Camps and other training options. Book a meeting today.
Get unlimited and self-paced training for you or teams in your organization with Infosec Skills.
- 190+ role-guided learning paths
- 100s of hands-on labs & cyber ranges
- Custom certification practice exams
Get certified and advance your career
- Exam Pass Guarantee
- Live instruction
- CompTIA, ISACA, ISC2, Cisco, Microsoft and more!