ROSE STATE COLLEGE AND DELAWARE RESOURCE GROUP

Regents Business Partnership Excellence Awards Ceremony 2023

ROSE STATE COLLEGE AND DELAWARE RESOURCE GROUP

Rose State College Workforce Development and Delaware Resource Group’s (DRG) partnership began in 2022 when DRG program management approached members of the college’s Center for Workforce Excellence about compliance with time-sensitive Department of Defense-directed cybersecurity workforce requirements. Like many companies in the Defense Industrial Base, DRG had a growing number of technicians and IT specialists performing critical functions in direct support of defense information systems that were contractually required to obtain baseline IT certification to validate the competency of personnel working in cybersecurity roles. Workforce Development tailored curriculum and available resources for a dozen affected DRG specialists, whose positions were at risk had they failed to achieve a baseline certification prior to the government’s timeline.  The provided training afforded DRG program managers the latitude necessary to maintain an operational schedule, while simultaneously delivering the essential elements needed to get personnel qualified. By the end of the calendar year, nearly 80% of DRG specialists enrolled in the Workforce Development course had passed their exams, satisfying existing DoD 8750 Information Assurance Technician compliance directives. The success of this initiative and the trust gained during this effort have opened the door for additional opportunities, including continuing education, micro-credentialing, and other industry-related cyber certifications.