Choosing a pathway to a promising career in cybersecurity.
University of West Florida
UWF CyberSkills2Work offers a short-term, intensive training program designed to grow the cybersecurity workforce in the areas of systems administration, cyber defense, and AI. The program offers two pathways in an asynchronous and online learning environment. Each provide training, industry certification prep, job-matching support, program support resources, and a career path to the growing field of cybersecurity.
The Cyber Defense Analyst Pathway is designed to prepare participants for cyber defense analyst and related work roles, which use defensive measures and information collected from a variety of sources to identify, analyze, and report events that occur, or might occur, within the network in order to protect information and information systems from threats. Participants will also learn how to evaluate and implement security protocols and practices within their employer’s organization.
Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Must be a veteran, transitioning service member, first responder, or state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government personnel.
Must have at least a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. (School transcripts of the highest level education completed are required.)
Must have some IT or cybersecurity experience
Need at least 1 year IT experience, or a Network+ certification, or have previously completed the UWF System Administrator pathway.
Spring 2026
Start Date: February 16, 2026 • End Date: August 7, 2026
Application deadline: November 5, 2025
The National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program, CyberSkills2Work, is funded by the National Security Agency National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).