Cybersecurity & Industrial .. Apprenticeship Program (CIISAp

Dylan Lee, Principal Technical Account Manager at Draos and volunteer at ICS Village, presents CIISAp (Cybersecurity & Industrial Infrastructure Security Apprenticeship Program, or "SysAp"), a traditional one-to-two year apprenticeship program modeled after established trades. ICS Village, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013, developed this program two and a half years ago to grow skilled OT (Operational Technology) professionals through transitioning service members, upskilling staff, and bringing non-industry workers into industrial cybersecurity roles.

SysAp's three core objectives are: (1) growing skilled OT professionals, (2) providing employers with a federally recognized program ensuring standard quality output, and (3) rotating participants through different competency-based roles spanning safety to cybersecurity. The program features one-to-one mentorship, federal recognition enabling Department of Defense service members to transition across state lines, mandatory wage schedules with increases at completion thresholds, formal mentorship opportunities, and external standards-body certification with all apprentice records on the Department of Labor website.

Cyber security analyst apprentices earn approximately $100,000 annually. In 2022, 8,000 new apprentices entered this track with ~90% completion rates, yielding roughly 7,000 journeyperson-level analysts by 2024. The program leverages exponential mentorship growth: four trained mentors can train four apprentices, then eight individuals can mentor eight more, creating sustainable scalability. Industry feedback consistently identifies hands-on experience with real equipment as the top priority.

ICS Village acts as "key sponsor," matching applicants with employers and mentors ranging from local utilities to large OEMs. The organization pursues grants to offset costs for small municipalities and co-ops, develops curriculum, provides scholarships, and reports comprehensive federal metrics on wage adherence, completion, and struggle areas. When apprentices struggle with specific competencies like safety, the nonprofit identifies gaps and builds targeted education.

The program's technical foundation emphasizes hands-on learning with industrial hardware. The initial trainer is a 16-inch Pelican case containing a PLC, HMI, managed industrial switch, buttons, and complete curriculum. PLCs cannot be virtualized—they run custom chipsets designed for 10–15 year operational lifespans; most OEMs lack virtualization solutions. OT systems critically depend on Layer 2 protocols and managed switches to teach Modbus, SIP, and Profibus concepts impossible to demonstrate virtually. Individual trainer kits cost $4,000–$6,000: PLCs ($400–$700), industrial switches ($500–$600), HMIs (~$500), plus yearly proprietary software subscriptions. Engineering computers must run Windows; no major PLC vendors support Linux. Emerging cloud solutions like Siemens TIA Portal VDI reduce workstation costs by enabling remote programming with hardware connections.

Current challenges include recruiting mentors, finalizing the Department of Labor work process (submitted for review), scaling limited one-to-one equipment ratios, and reducing costs. Timeline targets: Q2 2024 work process finalization, Q2 2025 mentor onboarding, end-of-2025 curriculum completion. A Gullettech Foundation grant funds trainers for 20 initial apprentices. Potential scaling solutions include remote sandboxed environments (inspired by Hack the Box and TryHackMe), cloud-based IDEs, and partnerships with distributors (e.g., Warner Electric, Granger) offering aligned hands-on training.

Siemens has been a critical partner, providing curriculum, hardware guidance, technical expertise, and TIA Portal education licensing. The organization explores partnerships with Software-Defined Automation and remains vendor-agnostic (Rockwell, Beckhoff, Honeywell, ABB), prioritizing minimal viable product with one vendor before expanding. Industry demand for real hands-on experience—not open-source alternatives—is a non-negotiable hiring requirement; employers seek candidates who have "worked with Siemens" or specific vendors.

A Q&A segment highlights labor union potential. A questioner notes unions' existing mentorship infrastructure, instructors, and facilities across decades in industrial settings. Dylan confirms one co-founder recently met groups in Washington, and SysAp coordinates with labor organizations while following Department of Labor work processes for mechatronics. As a nonprofit agnostic to affiliations, SysAp seeks introductions to relevant groups.

CIISAp demonstrates that federal apprenticeship models adapt well to cybersecurity and industrial technology, combining mentorship, hands-on hardware, competency-based progression, and federal recognition for sustainable workforce pipelines. The program faces a classic scaling paradox: genuine industry demand for hands-on OT training with real, non-virtualizable equipment conflicts directly with cost and logistics. Emerging solutions—cloud-based engineering IDEs, vendor partnerships, and labor union collaboration—offer partial pathways forward. While the White House and National Cyber Workforce Initiative have acknowledged the program, practical execution depends on volunteer effort, grant funding, mentor recruitment, and continued vendor partnerships to reduce cost barriers limiting scalability.