The Defense Department’s (DOD) new Cyber Registered Apprenticeship Program (Cyber RAP) has generated more than 70,000 inquiries ahead of its planned launch next month, said DOD Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies at the SAP NOW summit on June 24.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD has been rebranded as the War Department.
The 12-month paid apprenticeship program is designed to help develop a pipeline of cybersecurity talent by providing participants with hands-on training and experience. The initiative is part of the department’s broader effort to modernize how it recruits, develops, and retains talent needed to support national security missions.
“Ingenuity for today and tomorrow happens only with people, so the people behind the mission are also extraordinarily critical,” Davies said. “To reimagine how the American workforce operates and to close critical skills gaps, we’re also seizing on an unprecedented mandate to overhaul how we attract and cultivate our talent.”
According to Davies, the apprenticeship program is just one part of the Pentagon’s efforts to address critical workforce shortages in cyber and technology fields.
Davies also highlighted a Defense Information Systems Agency pilot that used skills-based hiring to reduce recruiting timelines significantly. Under the pilot, candidates moved from skills assessments to interim job offers within days.
“We’re throwing the doors wide open to the innovative minds we need to secure our future,” she said.
DOD CIO highlights broader modernization push
Davies said workforce development is one component of a larger DOD modernization strategy aimed at strengthening cybersecurity, improving supply chain resilience, expanding the use of data and artificial intelligence (AI), and preparing military systems for future threats.
The department’s newly released post-quantum cryptography (PQC) strategy is one element of the broader modernization strategy. The PQC strategy outlines a roadmap for transitioning military systems to quantum-resistant encryption technologies.
“The invisible battlefield of the 21st century moves faster than ever before. To maintain our advantage, we are not playing on the margins, we’re changing the whole game,” Davies said.
Davies also highlighted the department’s investments in data management and AI, which she said are helping automate logistics functions, identify potential supply chain disruptions, and improve decision-making across the defense enterprise.
“We’re transforming information into decision dominance, automating complex logistical challenges, predicting supply chain bottlenecks before they happen, and ensuring our commanders and warfighters have the intelligence they need at the speed of relevance,” she said. “Together we have an opportunity and a mandate to build a more innovative, secure, and technologically dominant nation for years to come.”