News Summary:

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global leader in high-performance cyber security solutions, today introduced the Fortinet Network Security Academy (FNSA). The FNSA is designed to develop and train action-oriented cybersecurity experts to manage new and advanced threats on the horizon.

• The Academy is designed to provide industry-recognized Fortinet training and certification opportunities to students around the world. 
• Students are prepared at international FNSA sites for success in a career in network security, obtaining both the theoretical lectures and hands-on laboratory practice needed to achieve a Fortinet certification.
• Seven organizations from the United States, Canada, and EMEA have joined the Academy now, with 20 additional global FNSA sites expected to open within the next quarter. 

 
Fortinet Network Security Academy Designed to Shape Future of Cybersecurity Workforce

Multiple studies demonstrate the cybersecurity labor shortage and the drastic need for additional experts, highlighting current job postings and the thousands of open positions around the world.

British insurance company Lloyd’s estimated that cyberattacks cost businesses as much as $400 billion a year. The key verticals under attack include healthcare, financial services, education and technology companies with the top threats including malware, botnets and application exploits. Educational institutions, which represent 27.4 percent of all attack events in the recent report from Fortinet’s Cyber Threat Assessment Program, are the second largest at-risk vertical industry.

FNSA was created to address the international shortage of cybersecurity experts and to build a workforce skilled in all aspects of Fortinet’s end-to-end network security fabric who will be recognized in the industry among an elite group of security professionals. From code to client to cloud, the Academy brings the training and certification opportunities previously only offered to Fortinet customers and partners to educational institutions, non-profit organizations and veterans programs. Training for faculty is free of charge for these organizations, arming the professors with the skills required to teach the program to students who will learn how to protect global organizations from cyber threats.

Organizations Around the Globe Have Joined the Fortinet Network Security Academy

Organizations around the world are seeing the benefits of cybersecurity training for their students. In the U.S., Cape Coral Technical College in Florida, Per Scholas, a national non-profit providing IT skills training with locations in Atlanta, New York, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; and Washington, D.C. and The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University in New York have all become Academy sites. Additional Academy sites include Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada; Willis College in Ottawa, Canada; and HTL Rennweg in Austria. Twenty additional organizations are expected to become Academy sites within the next quarter.

Fortinet sponsors the training content and examinations for each Academy site, along with supporting instructor preparation. Academy sites offering the training and certification courses provide the lab environment (virtual or hardware) and instructors to deliver the program content.

For more information about the Fortinet Network Security Academy, or to apply to become an Academy site, visit Fortinet’s training academy or email academy@fortinet.com.

Supporting Quotes

“Willis College has been a pioneer in preparing our students for the most in-demand positions. Partnering with Fortinet enables us to provide enhanced cybersecurity training and education to our students. Real-world, hands-on experience like this Academy provides has already produced over 50 graduates who have found lucrative careers at Fortinet over the past five years. Our commitment has always been to help students prepare for the long-term careers, not just a job when they graduate.”
– Rima Aristocrat, CEO, Willis College, Canada

“Per Scholas designs industry and job-specific courses to create streamlined talent pipelines to support the growing technology industry. We are committed to breaking the cycle of poverty by offering training and job placement free of charge to individuals who have a curiosity and passion for technology. The Fortinet Network Security Academy allows us to offer an advanced curriculum to students that can lead them into a career within networking security, an industry many would not have considered if it was not for programs like this one.”
– Eduardo Hernandez, director of program design, Per Scholas, New York

“As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it is up to academic institutions to offer courses that align with the technical needs the future generations of the world’s workforce will need in order to stay competitive. Fortinet’s program presents an opportunity for us to offer our students cutting-edge curriculum and tools to prepare them for the networking jobs of the future.”
– Christian Schöndorfer, IT professional, HTL Rennweg, Austria