(TNS) — A new cybersecurity school opening in San Antonio promises paid training, job placement and continuing education for those looking for a career in the fast-growing field.
Delaware-based cybersecurity training company NukuDo announced it will open its San Antonio-based U.S. headquarters within the Geekdom co-working space on Houston Street. NukuDo is the U.S. branch of Singapore-operated cybersecurity school Red Alpha.
The school's model differs from for-profit computer coding bootcamps, city-subsidized workforce development and other job-training programs: Instead of paying out of pocket or using public funds, students are paid $4,000 a month by the company for the duration of their training and agree to work for three years at a company-assigned location after completing the course.
“We commercialized the assessment and selection process and said, 'OK, let's put our money where our mouth is and go all out and be completely transparent,'” said Nkudu and RedAlpha CEO Dean Geffen, who relocated with his family to San Antonio from Singapore once the company got going. “Anyone who passes the selection test, we hire them, train them at our own expense and place them in our organization. That's our model.”
The idea resonated with Michael Blair, who became involved with NukuDo while working for the local economic development nonprofit Greater:SATX, which was trying to lure the company to the area.
“Private Sector Solutions”
“Before I got a company that actually wanted to hire me, I worked all day recruiting companies in San Antonio,” said Blair, who left Greater SATX in March to become managing director of NukuDo in San Antonio.
No public funds were used in the deal to attract the company, Blair said.
“We are a 100 percent private sector solution to a private sector problem,” he said.
While the model costs students nothing up front, the three-year work period may impact their income in the short term, but Blair said trainees will be trained, qualified, gain experience and have a network of contacts.
With this experience, he said, “they went from making $66,000 in their first year with us to probably making $150,000-plus now, because that's what the industry is looking for in a salesperson with that level of skill and expertise.”
The cybersecurity industry is growing due to the emergence of new technologies and threats, but the growth rate is slowing and some companies are cutting jobs, according to an annual report from cybersecurity trade group ISC2. Artificial intelligence has brought uncertainty to the industry, but the skills remain in demand. There is a workforce shortage of about 4 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide, according to ISC2.
According to the White House, there are more than 500,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs across the United States.
SA BEAT NY, Tampa
Blair said NukuDo began accepting applications in February and received more than 5,000 within five days. Of those, 15 people were selected to be part of the first group to start training with Geekdom in March.
The full-time, bootcamp-style program lasts 4-6 months, with a curriculum that is 80% hands-on and problem-solving skills, one trainer for every six students, and graduates earn industry certifications.
“We believe in these people so much that we're willing to invest in them to basically spend six months learning and getting certified,” Blair says, “so it's not just NukuDo saying, 'This person is a good fit,' it's literally the industry saying this person is a good fit by their own standards.”
NukuDo places its graduates in companies to gain at least three years of work experience, during which they will work as NukuDo employees.
After the three-year term is over, the school plans to keep in touch with graduates through twice-yearly continuing education training.
Jenna Saucedo Herrera, president of Greater:SATX, said San Antonio beat out New York City and Tampa, Fla., in the competition for the company's headquarters location.
“With NukuDO joining our community, we are poised to demonstrate our unparalleled support for cyber businesses looking to expand and thrive,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
Applications for future cohorts are being accepted on the company's website.
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