Universities Gear Up to Satisfy Job Growth in the Intelligence Sector

With U.S. government hiring to increase significantly over the next three years, especially in the area of national security and protection, universities are beefing up their educational offerings to produce more highly educated intelligence specialists.

The opening of the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium, composed of four universities in Nebraska, underscores the findings of a recently released study entitled "Where the Jobs Are," which identifies over 270,000 government employment opportunities available in the next three years. The North Platte Telegraph reports that the new program will focus on academic subjects such as physics and engineering, language and cultural immersion and statistical analysis. The goal is increase the pool of people, particularly women and minorities, qualified for careers in the intelligence sector.

As the newest of 14 such educational programs, it will help prepare students for jobs with federal agencies who gather intelligence, including the CIA. "The intelligence community needs brainpower, to challenge our way of thinking, to allow for the cross-fertilization of ideas," said Lenora Peters Gant, director of the government's Office of the Centers of Academic Excellence.