IronCircle Blog

The Challenge: Over 500,000 cybersecurity roles remain unfilled nationwide. The core problem isn't just a lack of people; it's a lack of talent with demonstrable, hands-on operational capability that employers trust.

Today, University of California, Santa Barbara Professional and Continuing Education (UCSB PaCE) and IronCircle are launching a landmark partnership to directly address this crisis. This collaboration expands access to rigorous, skills-based cybersecurity training across California and beyond, built around real scenarios and performance expectations used by today’s security teams.

The partnership unites UCSB PaCE’s academic leadership with IronCircle’s AI-driven training platform. Building on UCSB PaCE’s strong track record of offering IT and Software Engineering courses, this expansion into Cybersecurity ensures learners train in an immersive environment. The AI-driven platform integrates hands-on challenges and performance-based certifications that demand true operational competence.

The objective is singular: to prepare students to succeed immediately in industry-aligned roles.

Denis Couturier, Dean of Professional and Continuing Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, on the necessity of this shift:
"UCSB PaCE has a long tradition of delivering coding and information technology courses grounded in strong academic rigor and practical, experiential learning. Our partnership with IronCircle enables us to expand into Cybersecurity and offer learners high-quality, hands-on training that reflects the real-world challenges and expectations of today’s technology job market."

IronCircle’s platform is a powerful tool in this mission. It blends adaptive AI coaching, real-time performance feedback, and scenario-driven labs that mirror the environments used by modern security teams. This creates a scalable ecosystem that produces graduates who enter the workforce with the verified technical readiness and confidence employers urgently require.

As James Foster, CEO of IronCircle, notes: "Partnering with UCSB PaCE gives us the opportunity to expand a training platform rooted in real practice and measurable performance and helps us advance our mission to build the next generation of cyber talent. Together, we’re delivering a modern, skills-driven learning experience that prepares learners to enter the workforce with the capabilities employers expect on day one."