Cybersecurity

CYBER TALENT WANTED: Military, Intelligence Community Strive to Retain Cyber Workforces

The private sector has for years lured cyber talent away from the government with promises of higher compensation. To counter this, leaders within the military and intelligence community are implementing a slew of programs that they believe will boost retention.

The Army is closely monitoring retention rates for its cyber workforce, including officers, enlisted soldiers and civilians, said Todd Boudreau, deputy commandant of the U.S. Army Cyber School at the Cyber Center of Excellence in Fort Gordon, Georgia.

“We do know that there is a challenge to retain that workforce,” he told National Defense in an interview.

While the Army recognizes that it cannot pay as much as the private sector can, there are ways that the service can entice its workforce to stay in government, said Sgt. Maj. Karl Pendergrass, the Army’s cyber training and education directorate sergeant major.

One example includes special incentive pay for jobs that are deemed to be particularly critical, he noted.

The Army is currently exploring ways to piggyback off of a Pentagon program to incentivize service members to have proficiency in certain languages, he said.