It is with tremendous pride that Cerco is able to announce its membership within the Fortinet Veterans Program Advisory Council.

On 25th and 26th September 2023, our CEO Chris Barlow and Head of Cyber Security Training, Mark Wilcox, attended the inaugural meeting of the council in Toronto, Canada.

Building upon its relationship with Fortinet as an Education Outreach Partner, Cerco joins a global panel of esteemed members from organisations supporting the military veterans community.

Military veterans possess crucial skills in tackling the continuing fight against cyber crime but often lack access to or guidance with training and career resources. The net result is that transition from military life to a career in cybersecurity is problematic and confusing. 

Fortinet have identified this and addressed it by augmenting their Veterans Program with an Advisory Council.

The Fortinet Veterans Program Advisory Council exists to achieve the following:

• provide military veterans with a clear pathway through cybersecurity training and certification
• present military veterans with career opportunities within cybersecurity

In the United States, Fortinet has been recognised as a VETS Indexes Recognised Employer. VETS Indexes further supports those companies who actively support the hiring and professional development of military veterans. 

Here in the UK a similar scheme exists to support those companies training and sourcing employment opportunities for our armed forces veterans. This scheme, established by the UK Government, is called the Armed Forces Covenant and Cerco has been recognised as a Gold Member for its services to the armed forces community.

Cerco’s established training initiative, Cradle to Cyber, perfectly lends itself to the professional development of military personnel looking for a career in cybersecurity.

Cradle to Cyber has been established to present an entryway into IT and provides a range of training that begins with Cerco’s long-standing, in-house FastTrack course. For those wishing to pursue a career in cybersecurity we extend this training to encompass certification from CompTIA, Microsoft, ITIL and ISACA, amongst others. 

Crucially, Fortinet’s Network Security Expert (NSE) certification program sits central to Cradle to Cyber. By progressing through the 5 key stages of NSE, learners will gain vital knowledge in working with the solutions provided by the global leader in cybersecurity. 

For more information on how Cerco and Fortinet can support your transition from military service please reach out to us today.

View the press release from Fortinet: Fortinet Announces Formation of Veterans Program Advisory Council to Narrow the Cybersecurity Skills Gap with Military Veteran Talent