Citizens & CyberWarrior Promote Cybersecurity Career Pathways

Citizens is partnering with CyberWarrior Academy to provide virtual cybersecurity bootcamp opportunities during the upcoming April vacation for underserved youth in the Greater Boston area. CyberWarrior and Citizens launched an initiative last fall to expose area youth to college pathways and careers in cybersecurity – a sector in which women and people of color remain underrepresented.

The camp is being offered free of charge for qualifying students, and will run Tuesday, April 20th through Friday, April 23rd from 2:00pm to 4:30pm, live via Zoom. Students will have the chance to gain firsthand exposure to careers in the cybersecurity space, as well as work on programming skills, creative thinking, and career-readiness during fun, interactive virtual sessions. Across the globe, there are an average of 3,500,000 open cybersecurity jobs and the goal of this camp is to help inspire today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders in this high-earning, high-growth sector. Organizations and individuals interested in this free opportunity can email CyberWarrior Academy at info@cyberwarrior.com

“The support of Citizens to provide cybersecurity camp opportunities during April vacation demonstrates their commitment to supporting underserved populations and providing aspirational opportunities into a field that persons of color and girls have historically not been encouraged to pursue,” said Jonathan Edwards, COO, CyberWarrior Academy. “The CyberWarrior Foundation’s mission is to fill current and future cybersecurity skill gaps with persons from underserved backgrounds, and Citizens is helping us lead in this area.”

Citizens and CyberWarrior is working with stakeholder partners from across Greater Boston to maximize student participation in this program. Partners that are promoting this afternoon camp opportunity to their members include, Camp Harborview, the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, the Boys & Girls Club of Boston, Bridge Over Troubled Waters and others.

“CyberWarrior Academy is helping to inspire and build our future workforce, and Citizens is proud to be a partner in this work,” said Jerry Sargent, President, Citizens Massachusetts. “These bootcamps allow students to gain hands-on exposure to cybersecurity and begin to imagine themselves in high-paying, in-demand jobs that may otherwise feel unattainable.”

Citizens is committed to harnessing the bank’s resources, expertise and the unique strengths of its culture to help drive real and lasting progress across the diverse communities it serves. This partnership is part of the commitment the company announced last summer that includes providing grants and charitable support for immediate and longer-term initiatives aimed at supporting underserved communities through technology, education and digital literacy initiatives. It also includes more than $500 million in incremental financing and capital for small businesses, housing, and other development in predominately minority communities.

Citizens has recently announced partnerships with Black Girls Code and Girls Who Code to create more opportunities for women and girls in technology. More information on Citizens commitment to social equity can be found here.