VA Cybersecurity Apprenticeship for Veterans FY2027: 10 GS-9 Openings and the October 2 Deadline

As verified on September 21, 2026, VA’s official USAJOBS vacancy is accepting applications for ten GS-9 cybersecurity apprenticeship positions based in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The job is not remote. The complete package is due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 2, 2026. VA targets honorably discharged Veterans from technical military specialties, and applicants must separately meet the announced GS-9 education or experience qualifications. A listed specialty code alone is no guarantee. The résumé must be two pages or shorter, and the process includes required USA Hire assessments. This is a term appointment not to exceed two and one-half years; GS-12 promotion potential and possible conversion are conditional, not promised. Read the full announcement, prepare route-specific records early, and begin only through USAJOBS.

The displayed close time is Eastern Time, wherever you live. Do not treat it as midnight or as a deadline in your local zone. The official page and your USAJOBS application record are the places to confirm a late change or completed submission. The announcement does not promise that a last-minute upload will finish in time.

At a glance

Can you apply? Check two separate gates

First, check the vacancy and CAPV program criteria. USAJOBS lists Veterans and a career-transition hiring category, but its agency clarification narrows the Veteran target to graduates of a United States Armed Forces targeted technical military occupational specialty and also names eligible CTAP/ICTAP applicants. The program section says targeted candidates must be honorably discharged, have served in a technical specialty, bring some technical knowledge or experience, and currently live in or relocate to West Virginia or the surrounding area for the program. VA’s Careers in IT CAPV section also describes an honorably discharged, technical-specialty audience. The agency decides whether a particular applicant meets the announcement’s hiring path and program criteria. A Veterans’ preference claim is separate from this access check.

Second, check the federal GS-9 qualifications. The announcement gives an education alternative or an IT-related experience route. The experience route joins all four IT competencies with one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7. The current OPM GS-2210 Alternative A standard confirms that education and experience are alternative basic paths, while the experience path includes both competencies and specialized experience. VA still evaluates the vacancy-specific proof and program criteria. Having the degree, a technical code, or preference does not by itself establish eligibility for this job. All qualifications must be met by October 2.

The remaining checks include citizenship, any applicable time-in-grade requirement, complete documents, assessments and the conditions of employment. This guide cannot decide equivalence of a specialty, coursework, overseas education or work experience for a particular applicant.

Which military specialties are targeted?

USAJOBS calls the following examples “not all inclusive.” Keep the code shown in your own records; the site cannot translate it into an approved civilian equivalency. An unlisted code is not automatically excluded, while a listed code is not automatic acceptance or GS-9 qualification.

VA says prior cybersecurity knowledge is not required for this program. That statement means VA expects to train participants in cyber work. It does not erase the technical military background, technical knowledge or experience, GS-9 qualification, application, assessment or suitability rules. VA News says the FY2027 class is scheduled to start in January 2027 and describes training toward Cyber Defense Analyst work. Neither the planned start nor the training goal promises an individual selection or a Cyber Defense Analyst job after completion.

The GS-9 education alternative

For education, USAJOBS specifies a degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics or technology management. It also permits a degree with at least 24 semester hours in one or more of those fields that required developing or adapting applications, systems or networks. At GS-9, the graduate threshold is a master’s or equivalent graduate degree, or two full years of progressively higher graduate education leading to that degree. A bachelor’s degree alone is not the stated GS-9 education threshold.

If education supports all or part of your qualification claim, the vacancy calls for a transcript. It accepts an unofficial college transcript or a list of courses, grades, semester, year and credit. Coursework must come from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For foreign education, you must submit evidence of comparability with U.S. accredited education. The agency, not this site, decides whether your coursework fits. Graduate education does not bypass the separate CAPV Veteran and technical-specialty criteria.

The GS-9 experience route

The experience alternative requires IT-related experience showing attention to detail, customer service, oral communication and problem solving. VA tells applicants to describe these competencies clearly in the résumé. The vacancy then adds one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-7. It describes work with network services and systems, including hardware, software and virtual environments; understanding system components; characterizing and analyzing data from one or more sources; and assessing systems or networks and reporting results. It is the specific experience standard for this vacancy, rather than a general statement that any technical service counts.

VA says qualifying experience can be paid or unpaid, including relevant volunteer work. A full year generally means 35–40 hours a week, and part-time credit reflects the actual time spent on appropriate activities. Describe duties and hours so VA can evaluate them; the announcement says it will not assume experience that your materials do not show. An applicant without a cyber job title may still need to document the listed technical work and competencies. VA makes the equivalency decision.

When time in grade applies

The announcement separately applies a time-in-grade rule to current federal employees who held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks and to former federal employees applying for reinstatement. For this GS-9 position, it specifies 52 weeks at GS-7 in federal service. Submit an SF-50 that establishes the period; if your latest SF-50 is too recent to show the whole year, the vacancy says to include another. This branch is not a blanket requirement for someone entering federal service for the first time.

Martinsburg, pay and appointment terms

The duty station and hands-on training are in Martinsburg, West Virginia. USAJOBS says not virtual and not remote, with telework eligible only ad hoc or situationally. That is not a generally hybrid schedule or a way to keep another permanent duty location. The vacancy lists a Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. work schedule, with compressed or flexible scheduling only as a supervisor determines. Occasional travel may be required. It says relocation expenses are not reimbursed, and recruitment/relocation incentives and permanent change of station are not authorized. Consider the onsite requirement and any move before starting an application.

The listed GS-9 annual salary range is $62,972–$81,868. It is an advertised range, not every selectee’s starting pay or take-home amount. The full-time appointment is a term not to exceed two and one-half years; that ceiling is not a guarantee of the full duration. The vacancy says the position may be converted on program completion and fit. It lists GS-12 promotion potential and says promotion without further competition may happen only when regulatory, qualification and performance conditions are met. Selection at GS-9 does not guarantee promotion. Conversion and promotion are separate decisions; neither promises permanent employment. VA’s broader career-progression wording on DigitalVA and VA News must be read with these specific vacancy limits.

USAJOBS lists the job in the Competitive Service, represented by a union, with “Other” security-clearance listing, NCS/High Risk sensitivity and a suitability/fitness background check. Conditions include U.S. citizenship and Selective Service registration for males born after December 31, 1959. A selectee must complete onboarding identity steps and a background/suitability investigation. The vacancy also states a two-year trial period and says continued employment after it requires written certification that it advances the public interest; without that certification, employment ends. These are conditions to read in the original announcement, not a promise that meeting them ensures selection or continuation.

Build the application package before October 2

Read the complete vacancy and its Required documents section before using its Apply button. VA warns that it will not contact you for missing information. The package and required assessments are your responsibility. Use this checklist to organize the documents the announcement calls for; your route may require only some branches.

1. Résumé, no more than two pages. Longer résumés result in ineligibility. Show significant jobs and duties; start and end dates by month and year; hours worked for full- or part-time positions (not merely “full-time”); and military or civilian rank or grade where applicable. State technical duties and four competencies clearly enough for VA to judge them. USAJOBS lists a 5 MB résumé maximum and accepted PDF, common image, RTF, TXT, ODT and Word formats. Do not use an Adobe portfolio file or include a photograph.
2. Education proof if using education. Include the transcript or permitted course list. Provide foreign-education comparability evidence if that is your route.
3. Veteran or preference records where applicable. The announcement describes a legible DD214 showing service dates and character of service, including Member Copy 4 for the listed preference example. If claiming applicable 10-point preference, include SF-15 and its required support, such as a VA letter where relevant. It also describes a near-separation service-document branch for currently serving applicants, but that does not itself resolve the program’s honorable-discharge criterion. Claim preference accurately; it does not substitute for qualifications or guarantee selection.
4. Federal or transition-priority records where applicable. Include SF-50 proof for the time-in-grade branch. For CTAP/ICTAP priority, the announcement calls for an agency notice, recent performance rating and SF-50 when its well-qualified condition applies. An additional SF-50 may be needed to prove 52 weeks at GS-7.
5. Questionnaire and assessments. Complete every required online step, retain the official submission record and watch for a USA Hire invitation. Documents omitted by the closing clock can make the package ineligible.

What happens with USA Hire?

After you submit through USAJOBS, VA says an assessment notice appears on the submission screen and by email when required. It contains a unique official link and completion deadline. “Track this application” in your USAJOBS record can return to the notice. Review the instructions before starting and set aside at least three hours, even though VA says most applicants finish sooner. The vacancy assesses occupational reasoning, interaction, judgment and reading. It has a minimum cut score; failure to finish or score high enough removes an applicant from consideration.

VA says assessment responses generally can be reused for one year and cannot be revised once submitted. Before October 2 closes, eligibility information and additional support documents may be updated, but that does not reopen assessment answers. The official USA Hire Applicant Resource Center has practice and help materials. Do not share assessment questions.

If a disability may interfere with the assessments, request a reasonable accommodation before starting them, using the application question or OPM’s current accommodation guidance. Requests are decided case by case. The announcement gives a special 48-hour period after receiving the link if an accommodated applicant receives the assessment URL after the vacancy closes; it is not a general 48-hour extension for every applicant. Follow the exact deadline in your own official notice.

Can you use GI Bill benefits during CAPV?

The USAJOBS summary says the program is eligible for GI Bill benefits. That is a program-level statement, not an award to every apprentice. VA’s on-the-job training and apprenticeship guidance says a person must qualify for a GI Bill program, apply for benefits and confirm the employer’s training program is approved. The page describes a possible monthly living-expense payment and, for Post-9/11 GI Bill users, a possible books-and-supplies amount. It also states an active-duty exclusion for on-the-job training use. Benefit chapter, remaining entitlement, status, training reporting and applicable rate period affect any actual payment.

Check the exact program in VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool and your own benefit decision. An independently verified public CAPV approval record was not established in this review, so the vacancy’s program-level statement is attributed to VA. No individual dollar amount or payment schedule can be promised here. The federal salary and any separate education benefit are different questions.

VA’s Careers page calls CAPV Department of Labor registered, and Apprenticeship.gov mentions CAPV by name on its public-service page. That page did not provide an exact CAPV registration number in the checked public material, so the registration description here is VA’s statement, not an independent registry finding.

Apply through the official route

Start at USAJOBS vacancy 885323200. Confirm announcement ST-OIS-26-LRM-13068033-BU, open status and the October 2, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time close before clicking Apply. The Apply button hands off to an official USAJOBS login and application flow; this site has no application form. Submit the complete package before the fixed clock, use the official invitation for any assessment, and check Applications or Track this application in your USAJOBS account for status. Do not send a résumé, DD214, transcript, SF-15, SF-50 or assessment data to WVCOFCSRA.

Whether a particular military code, degree, foreign transcript, experience period, preference claim, time-in-grade record, accommodation request or background review is accepted remains an individual agency determination. Starting pay, referral, interview, selection, promotion, conversion and GI Bill payment are also unresolved for any one person. For another training path, VET TEC 2.0 and Veteran Readiness and Employment are separate VA programs, not CAPV prerequisites or substitutes. The career and transition guide has broader job-search resources.

Update log

• September 21, 2026: Initial vacancy, CAPV, qualification, document, assessment and benefits review. The announcement was accepting applications at the last recorded check. Recheck the USAJOBS page for an amendment or closure before acting.

Official sources

The full USAJOBS announcement controls the vacancy, deadline and application rules. DigitalVA Careers in IT explains CAPV’s program purpose, and VA News dated September 19 explains the FY2027 event. OPM’s GS-2210 standard explains the education/experience structure. VA’s apprenticeship benefit page explains why any GI Bill payment requires separate eligibility and approval.

Bottom line

The complete application must reach USAJOBS by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 2, 2026 while the announcement remains open. Check both the Veteran/technical program gate and the separate GS-9 qualification route, and plan for in-person work in Martinsburg. Keep the résumé within two pages, supply the documents for your own route, and finish the required USA Hire steps through official links. Ten listed vacancies, GS-12 promotion potential and possible conversion do not guarantee a hire, promotion or permanent job.

About this update: The CSRA Women Veterans Resource Guide is an independent informational publisher, not the Department of Veterans Affairs or another government agency. This article does not determine eligibility or replace instructions from the responsible official source.

Questions or corrections? Contact us.

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