Microsoft is working with community colleges in an effort to train 250,000 cybersecurity personnel by 2025.

Cybersecurity has become a major concern for companies, governments and organizations around the world. The US has suffered a number of high-profile attacks, many of them at the hands of state-sponsored hackers.

Microsoft was one of the Big Tech companies that pledged billions to help combat the threat and, in a blog post, company president Brad Smith says tech companies have a responsibility to address those threats.

“We recognize that no one has a higher responsibility to address cybersecurity threats than leading tech companies,” writes Smith. “It’s why we’ve increased cybersecurity investments and broadened our efforts across Microsoft, working closely with government and business leaders across the country.”

As part of those efforts, the company is partnering with community colleges to train more cybersecurity personnel.

“That’s why today Microsoft is launching a national campaign with U.S. community colleges to help skill and recruit into the cybersecurity workforce 250,000 people by 2025, representing half of the country’s workforce shortage,” Smith continues. “While some of these individuals will work at Microsoft, the vast majority will work for tens of thousands of other employers across the country.”

Smith says the program will help fill a dire shortage of qualified workers, where “for almost every two cybersecurity jobs in the United States today, a third job is sitting empty.”

As part of Microsoft’s efforts, it will make curriculum available free of charge for all public community colleges, provide training for faculty at 150 such colleges, and provide scholarships and resources to 25,000 students.