This new program is striving to train people of differing abilities and injured veterans in IT and cybersecurity

As the demand to fill cybersecurity jobs in Washington, D.C., continues to rise, a new program is offering some extra assistance to prepare professionals for jobs in the field.

Melwood and Cybrary are teaming up to train people of differing abilities and injured veterans for IT certifications through job and life skills training. Cybrary is a Greenbelt, Md.-based company that offers IT and cybersecurity training programs, and Melwood is a large nonprofit employer of people with differing abilities.

We are so excited to be partnered with Melwood to provide people with differing abilities training to become cybersecurity and I.T. professionalshttps://t.co/ndZfBGVayI

— Cybrary (@cybraryIT) March 12, 2019

As Technical.ly DC previously reported, 93 percent of professionals surveyed in Robert Half Techhnology‘s State of Tech Hiring in Washington, D.C. report said security was the number one skill for which they were providing training. Melwood’s program, titled abilIT, will provide students with soft skills training, technical training provided by Cybrary,  job search assistance, placement, and on-the-job coaching, the press release states.

“Cybrary is proud to team up with Melwood for the abilIT program. Our platform empowers individuals of all abilities and phases of their lives to ‘skill-up’ and better their position in the workforce. Participants gain entry-level IT expertise and self-assessment tools as they get ready to enter the cyber-security job market,” Cybrary CEO Ralph Sita said in a statement.

When students finish the program, they will be equipped with the skills to sit for A+ certification, Network+ certification, and Security+ certification which can lead to entry-level jobs in cybersecurity. To make sure their graduates land jobs, Melwood is working with potential employers.

“We’re inviting companies to take the Melwood challenge and explore all the advantages of hiring people of differing abilities and injured veterans.  I will hold our workforce up against any out there because of the quality of their work and the dedication to their jobs,” Melwood President and CEO Cari DeSantis said in the press release.

The abilIT program has already began with 40 percent of participants already coming in with bachelor degrees.