Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 10, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, within 180 days and annually thereafter for three years, to conduct an assessment of the cybersecurity workforce of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which shall include information on:

• the readiness and capacity of such workforce to meet its cybersecurity mission;
• where cybersecurity workforce positions are located within DHS;
• which such positions are performed by permanent full-time equivalent DHS employees, by independent contractors, and by individuals employed by other federal agencies;
• which such positions are vacant;
• the percentage of individuals within each Cybersecurity Category and Specialty Area who received essential training to perform their jobs; and
• in cases in which such training was not received, what challenges were encountered regarding the provision of such training.

Directs the Secretary to develop, maintain, and update a comprehensive workforce strategy to enhance the readiness, capacity, training, recruitment, and retention of DHS's cybersecurity workforce, which shall include a description of:

• a multi-phased recruitment plan,
• a 5-year implementation plan,
• a 10-year projection of the cybersecurity workforce needs of DHS,
• any obstacle impeding the hiring and development of such workforce, and
• any gap in the existing DHS cybersecurity workforce and a plan to fill such gap.

Requires the Secretary to submit to the appropriate congressional committees: (1) annual updates on such assessment and on the Secretary's progress in carrying out such strategy; and (2) a report on the feasibility, cost, and benefits of establishing a Cybersecurity Fellowship Program to offer a tuition payment plan for individuals pursuing undergraduate and doctoral degrees who agree to work for DHS for an agreed-upon period.