Cyber Training Bulletin: CISA Federal Cyber Defense Skilling Academy

New Year, New Training! Now Accepting FY25 Applications: CISA's Cyber Skilling for Federal Employees!

New Skilling Academy Micro-Courses Are Here!

CISA is thrilled to offer a new addition to the Skilling Academy – micro-courses! This option is perfect for students looking for training that not only enhances their knowledge and skills in cybersecurity, but that can be completed at their own pace throughout the 40- or 80- hour allotted timeframe.

These self-paced, 100% virtual trainings are offered free of charge and are designed to equip students with foundational and specialized cybersecurity skills. Each course emphasizes practical training to ensure that participants gain real-world experience in protecting and defending against cyber threats. Through this targeted training, participants will learn introductory skills to help prepare them to take on essential cybersecurity roles, enhancing the security and resilience of the nation’s infrastructure.

The micro-course topics that are being offered in FY25 include: 

• IT Fundamentals (2 Weeks)
• Basics of Threat Analysis (2 Weeks)
• Intro to Incident Detection, Response, and Handling (2 Weeks)
• Intro to Forensic Analysis (2 Weeks)
• Intro to Incident Response (1 Week)
• Intro to Pen-Testing (1 Week)

*Please note, Skilling Academy Micro-course offerings do not include any third-party certification vouchers for participants to sit for a certification exam. 

Pathways are Back in FY25 with New Topics!

The pathways are the longer of the two training options and are an intense, full-time, one to three-month accelerated training program. Pathway students are provided with valuable opportunities to practice cybersecurity skills in lab environments, which are led live, by an online instructor. Students will be required to attend Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET for the entire duration of the course (excluding federal holidays and predetermined session breaks). Students will not be able to maintain their alternative work schedule during the session.

The following pathways are being offered in FY25:

• Defensive Cybersecurity (12 Weeks)
• Digital Forensics (4 Weeks)
• Vulnerability Analysis (4 Weeks)
• Infrastructure Support (4 Weeks)
• Incident Response (4 Weeks)
• Systems Security Analysis (4 Weeks)
• Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (4 Weeks)

Eligibility Requirements and How to Apply

Eligibility: All full-time federal employees, in any job series and any grade or grade equivalent for non-General Schedule (GS) employees, are eligible to apply to CISA's Federal Cyber Defense Skilling Academy. Government contractors are not permitted to participate.

Participation in the Skilling Academy is prioritized for individuals from Departments and Agencies within the Federal Civilian Executive Branch. Applications from other federal government entities are welcome and will be considered based on course availability and program requirements. Please speak with your supervisor before applying to ensure that you can fulfill the Skilling Academy’s attendance requirements.

How to Apply: Interested applicants should reach out to the Skilling Academy to request a copy of the Supervisor and Applicant Agreement form. Once completed, return the form to SkillingAcademy@cisa.dhs.gov. The form must be electronically signed using a digital certificate (i.e., PIV or CAC).

The Skilling Academy has added several new training opportunities to meet the high demand that the program has seen in previous years. See below for the FY25 course schedule: