YOUR HONOR Ex-judge joins law firm
PAGE 20 VOLUME 28 NUMBER 18 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
Part of the
network
CYBER CAREERS
OCTOBER 3-OCTOBER 16, 2022 ■ $2.25
That’s the spirit
Vodka company investing $1.7M in new operations in Charleston County. Page 4
Build for rent
Construction begins on new North Charleston multifamily development. Page 6
Taste twist
New burger and barbecue concept coming to West Ashley this fall. Page 8
New deal
Blackbaud CEO gets three-year extension of contract. Page 8
INSIDE
Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 In Focus: Education and Workforce Development ..................... 12 List: Postgraduate Degree Programs........................... 17 Bonus List: Private Schools .......................................... 18 At Work ............................. 20 Hot Properties .................... 20 Viewpoint ...........................23
Members of the Columbia Cyber Team, D0wn the L1ne, practice for an upcoming competition. The team includes (clockwise from center) Danijela Hunt, coach Chris Flanery, Kris Tanner, Danial Lewis, Jacob Allen, and Greg Cowell. The team from ECPI’s Columbia campus recently won first place in a national cyber skills contest. (Photo/Provided)
Programs combating cybersecurity workforce shortage By Christina Lee Knauss
C
cknauss@scbiznews.com
ybersecurity is a family affair for David and Danijela Hunt and their son Antonio Curcic. The three Columbia residents have all studied cybersecurity at ECPI University in Columbia, and all graduated from the school in July — David and Danijela with bachelor’s degrees in cybersecurity and Antonio with an associate’s in software development. In their spare time, Antonio and his mom also spent much of the past year as members of the school’s award-winning cybersecurity competitive team. The family is part of a growing number of people of all ages studying cybersecurity as the need for employees in the field explodes both nationwide and in South Carolina. The state currently has about 5,000 open cybersecurity jobs that are not being filled, according to statistics compiled by SC Tech,
an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness designed to promote information technology and other tech jobs around the state. Some estimates indicate the deficit might be even larger, according to Kim Christ, director of SC Tech and Cybersecure SC, the council’s initiative to promote cybersecurity. Christ said CyberSeek.org, a site dedicated to covering and promoting cybersecurity workforce development, recently posted statistics showing South Carolina’s number of open jobs in the field at more than 7,000. The stats get even more dramatic at the national level. According to statistics compiled by CyberSeek, from May 2021 through April 2022, there were 180,000 nationwide openings for information security analysts, cybersecurity’s largest job, but only 141,000 workers currently employed in those positions — an annual talent shortfall of 39,000 workers. Additionally, CyberSeek said, employers
Turning up the volume Renovations designed to amplify Peace Center’s music scene. Page 10
nationwide are struggling to fill 534,548 additional openings nationwide for workers with cybersecurity-related skills. On average, the organization’s statistics show, cybersecurity jobs take 21% longer to fill than other IT jobs simply because there are not enough workers available with the needed skills. That’s why staff members with the cybersecurity degree program at ECPI — and other programs at schools nationwide — are hearing almost nonstop from employers looking to hire graduates almost as soon as they complete their degrees. “We can’t fill the spots fast enough for employers requesting our students,” said Chris Flanery, a faculty member in ECPI Columbia’s cybersecurity department and coach of the school’s cybersecurity team. “And I can tell you right now that for members of the cyber competitive team over the past four years, we’ve had See CYBER SECURITY, Page 14