THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE ENERGY OFFICIALS

Agency: United States Department of Commerce
NAICS: 541519 - Other Computer Related Services
Period start: 2026-10-01
Period end: 2028-03-31
Budget: 200000.0
Place of performance: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22209, UNITED STATES

Description

PURPOSE: THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND PILOT A REPLICABLE, EMPLOYER-VALIDATED CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE PIPELINE FOR THE ELECTRIC UTILITY SECTOR BY ALIGNING EMPLOYER WORKFORCE NEEDS WITH UNIVERSITY CURRICULA, WORK-BASED LEARNING, AND CAREER PATHWAYS. THE PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A DOCUMENTED MODEL, CYBER CAREER MAP, AND REPLICATION PLAYBOOK THAT STATE ENERGY OFFICES CAN USE TO STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE CAPACITY FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES NATIONWIDE.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A UTILITY EMPLOYER ADVISORY COUNCIL TO IDENTIFY AND VALIDATE ELECTRIC UTILITY CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE NEEDS, ALIGN UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE CURRICULA WITH EMPLOYER DEMAND THROUGH INTEGRATION OF CYBER-INFORMED ENGINEERING CONTENT, AND DEVELOP WORK-BASED LEARNING AND EMPLOYER HIRING PATHWAYS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PRODUCE A CYBER CAREER MAP, A KENTUCKY UTILITY CYBERSECURITY DEMAND BRIEF, AND A REPLICATION PLAYBOOK, WHILE CONDUCTING STATE ENERGY OFFICE BRIEFINGS, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, AND OTHER DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT NATIONWIDE REPLICATION.EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE EMPLOYER-VALIDATED, NICE-ALIGNED CYBERSECURITY POSITION DESCRIPTIONS AND EDUCATION PATHWAYS THAT REFLECT ELECTRIC UTILITY WORKFORCE NEEDS. IT WILL CREATE A PUBLIC CYBER CAREER MAP FOR LEARNERS AND A REPLICATION PLAYBOOK THAT ENABLES STATE ENERGY OFFICES TO IMPLEMENT SIMILAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MODELS. THE PROJECT ALSO SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN COORDINATION AMONG UTILITIES, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, AND STATE ENERGY OFFICES TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF THE CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE PIPELINE.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE ELECTRIC UTILITY EMPLOYERS ACROSS INVESTOR-OWNED, MUNICIPAL, AND RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE UTILITIES; UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE STUDENTS AND INCUMBENT UTILITY WORKERS PURSUING CYBERSECURITY CAREERS; THE KENTUCKY OFFICE OF ENERGY POLICY AND OTHER STATE AND TERRITORY ENERGY OFFICES; AND THE COMMUNITIES SERVED BY PARTICIPATING UTILITIES. THE PROJECT IS ALSO INTENDED TO BENEFIT THE BROADER ELECTRIC SECTOR THROUGH A REPLICABLE CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MODEL.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: KY OEP WILL SERVE AS THE IN-STATE CONVENER, ENGAGE UTILITIES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, ALIGN ACTIVITIES WITH STATE ENERGY SECURITY PRIORITIES, AND CO-AUTHOR THE REPLICATION PLAYBOOK. THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE WILL SERVE AS THE ACADEMIC LEAD, MAPPING COURSEWORK TO EMPLOYER-DEFINED WORKFORCE NEEDS, INTEGRATING CYBER-INFORMED ENGINEERING CONTENT, DEVELOPING WORKFORCE PATHWAYS AND STACKABLE CREDENTIALS, AND SUPPORTING THE CYBER CAREER MAP AND WORKFORCE PROGRAMMING. KENTUCKY UTILITY PARTNERS WILL DEFINE WORKFORCE DEMAND, PARTICIPATE IN THE UTILITY EMPLOYER ADVISORY COUNCIL, SUPPORT WORK-BASED LEARNING, AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON QUALIFIED PATHWAY COMPLETERS. IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY WILL PARTICIPATE AS AN UNFUNDED COLLABORATOR PROVIDING CYBER-INFORMED ENGINEERING CURRICULUM RESOURCES, INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT, TECHNICAL ADVICE, AND ACCESS TO RELEVANT COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE.

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