Fortinet - Cybersecurity Skills Academy Pledge

Fortinet is committed to closing the cybersecurity skills and talent gap in the European Union. We pledge to offer free trainings and professional certifications to 65,150 EU citizens, by February 2027. Namely, ICT professionals (including those already working in the cybersecurity industry), workers in other sectors who intend to re-train/re-skill, instructors, university students, and the general population of EU citizens with a particular focus on school children aged 5 to 18, and partner with 30 new academic institutions on top of the existing 163. Also, Fortinet is also committed to providing general awareness educational materials to 10,000 EU students.  

Our pledge

“The cybersecurity talent shortage is one of the top challenges putting organisations at risk, as clearly demonstrated by the results of the latest Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report from Fortinet. In today’s climate, organisations must choose products that introduce automation to offload overworked teams while continuing to focus on upskilling and cybersecurity training.” 

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet (March 21, 2023)

Our initiatives

In line with our company's Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI) values, and building on our existing partnership with Women4Cyber, we pledge to reach diverse segments of the population, with a particular focus to women and minorities.

Title: Network Security Expert certification for professionals and jobseekers.

Description: Self-paced free online training leading to an industry-recognized certification and electronic badge that can be used on CVs and professional social networks such as LinkedIn. Mainly targeting ICT and cybersecurity professionals who want to upskill and re-skill, it can also be followed by non-IT professionals and job seekers who want to retrain.

Target Audience: 60,000 Cybersecurity professionals and other workers in the ICT industry.

Location: online access available from all Member States

Language: English. Spanish, Portuguese, and French are in the pipeline for select courses by end of 2024.

Cost: All self-paced courses are free. Free certification and badges are available for the Fortinet Certified Fundamentals and Fortinet Certified Associate levels. The other higher-level certifications require an exam fee.

Link to benefit from the initiative

Title: Academic Partner Programme: Train 5,000 students

Description: Fortinet Academic Partner Program is designed to provide industry-recognized training and certification opportunities to the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. We will collaborate with academic institutions and non-profit organisations, to help learners to become part of an elite group of skilled security professionals. Through the program, Fortinet trains instructors and provides them with customizable materials (slides, videos, and other content). We also provide free online labs for students. All exams, tests, and certifications are also provided for free. (193 academic institutions in total)

Target Audience: 5,000 students

Location: at the institutions’ facilities, instructor-led and/or available through online access to Fortinet platform, from any member state across EU.

Language: English only at first. Overtime we plan offerings in French, Spanish, Portuguese.

Cost: Free for both students and instructors, including training, tests, exams and certifications.

Link to benefit from the initiative

Title: The Academic Partner programme: Engage with 30 academic institutions

Description: Fortinet Academic Partner Program is designed to provide industry-recognized training and certification opportunities to the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. We will collaborate with academic institutions and non-profit organisations, to help learners to become part of an elite group of skilled security professionals. Through the program, Fortinet trains instructors and provides them with customizable materials (slides, videos, and other content). We also provide free online labs for students. All exams, tests, and certifications are also provided for free. (193 academic institutions in total)

Location: at the institutions’ facilities, instructor-led and/or available through online access to Fortinet platform, from any member state across EU.

Language: English only at first. Overtime we plan offerings in French, Spanish, Portuguese.

Cost: Free for both students and instructors, including training, tests, exams and certifications.

Link to benefit from the initiative

Other initiatives

Title: Capture the flag competition

Description: Sponsor international MITRE capture the flag competition and promote it among our EU academic partners.

Target Audience: 150 university and senior/high school students

Location: virtual online competition on MITRE platform, across EU MS. Formal award ceremony at MITRE headquarters in the USA

Language: English

Cost: All costs related to participating students and institutions are covered by Fortinet’s sponsorship to MITRE.

Link to benefit from the initiative

Title: Security Awareness Curriculum for school children aged 5 to 18 

Description: Curriculum for school teachers on topics such as internet safety and digital citizenship, as well as more advanced subjects such as network security, hardware and software security, catered for older students.

Target Audience: 10,000 elementary, secondary, and high school students

Location: online access from all Member States

Language: English. By end of 2024 expected in Spanish and French

Cost: Free for schools and pupils

Link to benefit from the initiative and Link for teachers to register and download the Curriculum for free

Fortinet is committed to reviewing and updating the status of this pledge every six months.

Pledge status updates 

Update: August 2025 
The initiative to train 60,000 cybersecurity and ICT professionals across the EU has reached 32,572 individuals so far, achieving 54% of its overall goal. Through the Academic Partner Program, 906 students have completed training since February 2024, and participation has exceeded expectations with 46 academic institutions across 16 EU countries joining—well above the original target of 30. 

Additionally, six EU schools and 75 students took part in MITRE ATT&CK–based training to deepen understanding of adversary behaviors and techniques. The Security Awareness Curriculum for school children aged 5 to 18 has reached 550 students to date, including 500 participants in workshops held in Rome and Naples and 50 more in Spain, supporting the broader pledge to strengthen foundational cybersecurity awareness among 10,000 young learners.
 

Background

Fortinet 2023 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global report shows that roughly 40% of EU IT decision-makers (C-level and other executives) consider it challenging to fill (and retain) security roles, and almost 50% of them find it hard to meet their diversity goals of hiring among women, military veterans and minority groups. Approximately 84% of leaders value cybersecurity training and certifications as a way to overcome the skill shortage challenges, and they take them into consideration as part of their hiring decisions.

Want to know more? Watch now the video testimonial by Fortinet on their pledge!