Kyndryl Foundation backs JEDI for cyber skills training

Kyndryl Foundation has awarded a third-year grant to the Joint Economic Development Initiative in Canada. JEDI is one of 13 recipients in the foundation's latest global round of funding for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence skills.

The grant will support IT and cybersecurity training for about 60 Indigenous students in New Brunswick. Some participants will also gain access to internships, full-time roles, cybersecurity competitions and industry conferences through external programmes.

JEDI, which works with Indigenous communities across New Brunswick, was selected for the second year running in Canada. The group focuses on economic and workforce development for Indigenous Peoples and communities in the province.

The funding comes as employers in Canada continue to face pressure in hiring cyber workers. Kyndryl reported that 85% of Canadian organisations have experienced a cyber-related outage in the past year, while one in six cybersecurity jobs remains unfilled.

This gap has coincided with the continued underrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canada's technology workforce. The latest grant aims to widen access to training for a group that often faces barriers to employment.

Global expansion

The wider programme now covers 13 countries, with France and Mexico added this year. It supports both existing multi-year grantees and new organisations working on cybersecurity training, AI literacy, digital inclusion and workforce readiness.

The global programme is expected to reach well over 100,000 people. The grants fund practical training, mentoring and job-readiness support run by independent nonprofit groups.

Other recipients include Article 1 in France, which will add AI tools to a mentoring platform and expand AI literacy training for 4,000 students, and Labouratoria in Mexico, which will train 200 under- and unemployed people in foundational cybersecurity and job-readiness skills.

In the UK, Generation: You Employed will run train-and-place boot camps for 400 people over two years. In Spain, Fundación Cibervoluntarios plans to train 10,000 young people in cybersecurity and ethical hacking through 400 sessions, while also running a wider awareness campaign.

Programmes in Japan, Poland, Hungary, India, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czechia and the US are also included in the latest round. Several are linked to broader workforce initiatives in their local markets.

Skills focus

The foundation's grant programme is centred on cybersecurity and AI at a time when companies and public bodies are trying to address shortages in digital skills. The latest awards continue its model of backing local nonprofit groups rather than running training directly.

For JEDI, the emphasis is on job-ready learning in both urban and rural parts of New Brunswick. The organisation supports economic growth across the province's 16 Indigenous communities.

The grant builds on an earlier relationship between the two organisations. Kyndryl Foundation identified JEDI as a returning grantee as it deepens support in markets where it already works with local partners.

Announcing the wider programme, Una Pulizzi, President of Kyndryl Foundation and Global Head of Corporate Affairs at Kyndryl, said: "As we enter the third year of Kyndryl Foundation grants program, our focus is on deepening impact and strengthening digital skills development in the communities in which we operate."

She added: "We are proud to help create more pathways for individuals to enter meaningful careers in cybersecurity and AI."

The Canadian award also reflects growing attention to how workforce policy intersects with cyber resilience. As cyber incidents continue to disrupt organisations, employers and training groups increasingly argue that broader participation in the labour market is necessary to fill specialist roles.

JEDI's programme is designed to connect training with employment outcomes rather than classroom learning alone. Participants in the New Brunswick scheme will be offered routes into work placements and permanent jobs alongside technical instruction.

The grants support independent nonprofits that prepare people for careers in the digital economy through hands-on training and mentoring. In New Brunswick, that means Indigenous students will be able to take part in IT and cybersecurity training with pathways that extend beyond the course itself.