Global computing giant, Microsoft Corp., has launched a new initiative to fill the widening vacancy gap in cybersecurity in the United States of America.

To this end, Microsoft is to train as many as 250,000 Americans in cybersecurity over the next four years.

To meet its goal, Microsoft is going to team up with hundreds of community colleges across the country.

For its part, Microsoft will provide scholarships to around 25,000 students and upskill the existing cybersecurity teachers in 150 colleges.

In addition, the technology giant has announced that it will make the curriculum available free of charge to all of the nation’s public community colleges.

The announcement comes two months after President Joe Biden held a meeting with the technology firms, urging them to contribute to enhancing cybersecurity in the country.

It has been reported that more than 30 per cent of cybersecurity positions in America are lying vacant even although cybersecurity workers can expect to earn more than US$100,000 annually.

Currently, there are 464,200 vacancies in America that require cybersecurity skills that account for all open jobs in the country, Nearshore Americas has reported Microsoft President, Brad Smith as saying.

According to Microsoft, community college is the perfect place to provide cybersecurity training, saying 11.8 million Americans attend these institutions every year.

The Microsoft boss wrote in a blog post that, “almost two-thirds attend classes part-time, while they hold jobs to help raise families.”