TECHNOLOGY
On the Front Lines of the Skills Gap: The Mission of ReadyForce Cyber
By: Bro: Tommy de Jongh
The United States faces a shortage of roughly 500,000 cybersecurity professionals, and the gap is widening. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is reshaping every industry faster than most educational institutions can keep pace with. For Tommy de Jongh, a member of Delta Lambda’s Fall 2023 line, that gap is not an abstract policy problem. It is the thing he shows up to close, one student at a time, as the Director of Workforce Development for ReadyForce Cyber.
ReadyForce Cyber is a small African-American and Veteran led nonprofit built on a straightforward conviction: that access to quality AI and cybersecurity education should not depend on geography, income, or institutional prestige. The organization operates across multiple program areas, reaching K-12 students, college undergraduates, career changers, and working professionals. It trains educators through a Train-the-Trainer model, equipping teachers with the curriculum and certifications to lead AI and cybersecurity classrooms themselves, multiplying impact well beyond any single instructor. To date, the organization has trained more than 500 educators and reached over 1,200 students, with 92 percent of trained educators applying new skills within three weeks.
Brother de Jongh is currently spearheading the launch of ReadyForce Cyber’s UpSkill Academy, an online training platform designed to prepare students to pass industry-recognized IT certification exams. The academy has secured partnerships with CompTIA and ISACA, two of the most respected certification vendors in the field. CompTIA certifications, including Security+ and CySA+, serve as baseline credentials for cybersecurity professionals across the public and private sectors. ISACA’s credentials, including CISA and CRISC, are among the most sought-after designations in risk management and information security. By anchoring the UpSkill Academy to these industry standards, Brother de Jongh is ensuring that graduates leave with credentials that employers already recognize and respect.
Most recently, Brother de Jongh brought that work directly to Howard University, where he served as a guest speaker, teaching students how to build applications and websites using AI tools. The session reflected a broader philosophy that runs through everything he does: that AI literacy is not a luxury for the technically inclined but a foundational skill for the next generation of professionals, regardless of their field of study. At one of the nation’s most historic HBCU’s, that message landed in exactly the right room.
Brother de Jongh does not arrive at this work theoretically. By day he is an IT consultant at KPMG, working in cyber transformation, helping federal organizations modernize their security infrastructure to meet dynamic threats. He also currently serves part-time as a cyber officer in the Air Force Reserves, and previously commanded an intelligence Company in the Army National Guard. His technical education includes Master’s of Professional Studies in cyber intelligence from Georgetown University. That combination of corporate consulting, active military service, and academic depth gives him a rare vantage point, one that allows him to design programs grounded in what the field actually demands rather than what textbooks suggest it requires.
Across all of it, mentorship has been the constant. Brother de Jongh has worked with students at every level, from middle schoolers encountering cybersecurity concepts for the first time to older adults pivoting careers later in life. He draws from each layer of his experience to meet students where they are, and he has built programs that reflect the full range of what AI and cybersecurity education can look like when it is done with intention. Delta Lambda is proud to stand behind a Brother who is not waiting for the skills gap to close itself.
Author Bio: Bro. Tommy de Jongh is currently the Associate Editor for the Delta Lambda Chapter. He works full-time as an IT consultant and part-time as an Air Force Officer for the Department of Defense. His initiation chapter is Delta Lambda as well, and he crossed in October 2023.