Case Study

Assessment & Role-Based Training for Top US Healthcare System

The Challenge

Cybersecurity Executive Directors at one of the largest US healthcare systems were looking to standardize and revamp training for the IAM team. Their ultimate objective was to have the IAM team take on more cybersecurity tasks and match the skills of a traditional SOC Tier I Analyst. 

 They typically relied on SANS for certification preparation and allowed employees to self-select training based on their interests. However, with a diverse team of 115, leadership understood it wasn’t practical to continue spending $1M+ per year on training without a formal plan, learning path, or metrics to identify training needs or knowledge and skill improvement. SANS didn’t allow them to optimize their training budget nor to have a cohesive strategy to develop talent.

Name withheld, Top US Healthcare System

2022

Skills Diagnostic Assessment
Role Mapping
Workforce Development
Custom Training Configuration

Baseline your team’s skills and map training to what they actually need.

Case Study

The Solution

Here’s how N2K developed a custom cybersecurity training program for the client and their IAM team:

  • Data-Driven Approach: Before recommending any training program, N2K first deployed the NICE Workforce Diagnostic to create employee skill profiles and establish a clear baseline for an initial cohort of 60 practitioners. 
  • Custom Training Roadmap: Based on the diagnostic results, N2K built a custom one-year roadmap of configured training designed to develop the necessary skills for a SOC Tier I role, while also applying the concepts to the healthcare industry. Comprised of modular lessons from N2K’s role-based portfolio, the program covered everything from foundational cybersecurity concepts to technical security operations processes, procedures, and tools.
  • Flexible Scheduling: With a globally-decentralized workforce, leadership needed a training program that was flexible enough to adhere to employee availability and different time zones. The training was offered to several cohorts and spaced out over multiple months, which included both live online sessions and instructor office hours at a time that was most convenient to each population.


The initial assessment helped leadership uncover key trends in their IAM team’s competencies and guided the build of a custom training roadmap to fit their workforce needs.

We can help design a custom cyber training roadmap to fit your organization.

Case Study

The Results

Following the initial diagnostic assessment for 60 individuals and training evaluation, leadership promptly implemented a comprehensive solution incorporating data-driven, role-based training instead of relying on certification and questionable training investments to upskill employees.

In the first three months of this engagement, the organization has reduced its training costs by approximately 40% by switching to N2K. Early metrics also show that 83% of participants are fully engaged in their training program, leading to a 14% average assessment score improvement. 

Since then, leadership has added new cohorts–nearly doubling their commitment–for additional employees and continues to collaborate with N2K to ensure their IAM team has the best training experience as needs evolve.

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