The Department of Defense invites interested providers of certification, training, courses, or formal education to submit an application to have their assessments accredited by DoD for use as part of the DoD Cyber Workforce Qualification Program. Interested parties may include private companies, academia, colleges, or universities, military schools, non-governmental organizations, federal, state or local agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

The DoD CIO Workforce Innovation Directorate (WID) serves as the CWMB Secretariate and with the other members of the CWMB, manages and oversees the DoD 8140 Qualification Process for the DoD cyber workforce elements including information technology (IT) (cyber), cybersecurity, cyber enablers, cyber effects, cyber (intel), data/artificial intelligence (AI) and software engineering.

The CWMB has established an open and continuous process available for interested certification, training, and academic degree providers supporting elements of the DoD Cyber Workforce. The online application process for nominating certification or training consists of four progressive parts. Each part captures key information about the Provider and their offerings. The automated assessment step is advanced by artificial intelligence (AI) applied to input and data and includes opportunities for the provider to add self-evaluation and comments. Once the completed application is submitted, the DoD CIO WID reviews the report findings and releases a decision along with the next steps.

DoD Manual 8140.03 requires all certifications must be accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under ISO/IEC 17024 and all training programs accredited by ANAB under ANSI/ASTM E2659-18 Standard Practice for Certificate Issuers. University and academic degree programs should be ABET-accredited or possess and NCAE designation from the National Security Agency (NSA).

Providers without these accreditations may still apply, but their offerings may be set aside for review until they have acquired one of these accreditations. Learn more about the ASNI/ANAB accreditation process — and how to apply — here.

Prior to the decision to nominate a certification, training, or other offering for consideration for the DoD Cyber Workforce, the provider should analyze and compare the certification and/or training exam proficiency level to the DCWF knowledge, skills, abilities, and tasks (KSATs) that are designated as “core” for that work role. The provider should ensure that the certification or training exam assesses proficiency in at least 70 percent of the core KSATs. For each work role aligned to the certification or training offering, the offering must achieve a score of 70 percent or better to be approved for use in accordance with DoDM 8140.03.

The foundational qualifications for DoD employees are aligned to each work role in the Department. You can learn more about this by viewing the DoD Cyber Workforce Qualifications Matrix.

A program Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document has been published to give providers additional information and guidance. Also, please review the “Additional Resources” section at the bottom of this screen for links to related information essential to your understanding of the program.

If you would like to create your DoD Cyber Workforce Qualification Program account and get started with your application, click here or the button at the bottom of this screen.