Recently, I attended POLITICO’s “The Fifty: America’s Governors,” introduced by Cisco, held through the National Governors Association (NGA) 2023 Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. This occasion introduced collectively six sitting governors and leaders from each the private and non-private sector to debate workforce growth, cybersecurity, digital fairness, reimagining authorities companies, and supporting essential infrastructure. The convening offered a novel discussion board to raised perceive the present political and expertise environments state leaders are grappling with, and in our conversations with state authorities leaders all through the weekend, three key priorities for state governments in 2023 turned clear.
3 key priorities
My colleague, Rachel Barger, SVP of Americas Sales at Cisco, kicked off this system which included interviews between POLITICO reporters and 6 sitting governors (under) from throughout the nation. Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s EVP and Chief People, Policy, and Purpose Officer, joined to debate how the tech business is working with states to assist them overcome obstacles.
During the occasion, three key priorities state governments shall be coping with all through 2023 emerged:
- Digging in on workforce growth.
- Investing in cyber resilience.
- Extending connectivity and addressing digital inequity.
Priority 1: Digging in on workforce growth
Workforce shortages have reached a disaster level for the U.S. financial system, with expertise and cybersecurity abilities gaps being main ache factors. Workforce growth unlocks significant alternatives for people, and investing in upskilling and reskilling in states drives financial growth — and jobs create taxpayers and taxpayers fund authorities. In my expertise, this challenge is paramount for each governor Cisco’s state, native governments, and schooling (SLED) workforce helps.
According to an October 2022 report by the National Association of State CIO’s (NASCIO), workforce is among the many high 10 coverage imperatives for state governments. One approach Cisco is addressing the digital and cybersecurity abilities hole is thru Cisco Networking Academy, which has outfitted 17.5 million college students throughout 190 international locations with high quality networking and cybersecurity abilities because it started 25 years in the past.
As talked about by Rachel through the occasion, at Cisco we’re partnering with state and native governments and entities round workforce. But we’re keenly conscious that lots of our prospects within the personal sector are additionally seeking to fill some of these jobs. That offers us the chance to be that bridge to attach each the private and non-private sector with Cisco Networking Academy skilled college students, who can energy the way forward for authorities and the varied industries supporting financial development.
Priority 2: Investing in cyber resilience
The U.S. presently has an estimated 700,000 vacancies in cyber-enabled jobs. Cybersecurity is high of thoughts for each state and native authorities, and it’s an space Cisco is acutely centered on. This contains:
Our workforce at Cisco can be working alongside state companies on cybersecurity planning and serving to them leverage Cisco’s Talos Incident Response Services to proactively assess, strengthen, and evolve incident readiness.
Priority 3: Extending connectivity and addressing digital inequity
The fast change to digital environments for college kids and lecturers through the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted uneven entry to broadband in each rural and concrete areas of the U.S. For instance, 82% of the U.S. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are located in broadband deserts. To assist communities overcome this digital inequity, the IIJA is providing $65 billion for extending broadband within the U.S. And I’m proud to share Cisco’s efforts to associate with authorities companies and academic establishments to increase connectivity to communities.
Our efforts have already bore fruit, together with:
We’ve discovered that authorities leaders are inquisitive about what their friends in different states are doing on these matters. That’s the place we really feel Cisco can add robust worth to the dialogue. By offering state governments with success tales and revolutionary use circumstances, and by providing our experience and expertise gained by supporting different states throughout the nation, we provide a reputable path to serving to state governments meet the challenges that lie forward.
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