Over his decade of service at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Rodney Petersen has had a front row seat to the evolving state of the cyber workforce across government, industry and academia. In his role as director of education and workforce at NIST’s Applied Cybersecurity Division, Petersen led efforts to standardize cyber workforce roles and better understand skills gaps that are now a recurring theme in cyber policy discussions.

With Petersen retiring at the end of 2025, I spoke with him about the evolution of NIST's cyber workforce programs, the progress made on the pernicious cyber talent gap, and what comes next for cyber workforce and education amid the rise of artificial intelligence.

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An interview with NIST's outgoing cyber workforce director