A San Clemente-based cybersecurity company believes it has found a way to help fill the gap in U.S. computer-protection experts: recruit previously homeless people and help them into better-paying jobs.
“They see this as an opportunity and they are all over it,” said Mike Gentile, the founder and CEO of Cisoshare, which started the program in partnership with United Way.
“This is a great chance for them to improve.”
Gentile said for many homeless, the issue is making enough money to afford housing—something his program aims to make possible.
While the program is not suited for those who are homeless because of mental illness or some other issues, there is a large pool of people who are fit and just need a chance, he said.
“This is a new and innovative way for us to connect those in need in Orange County with a new career pathway,” said Susan Parks, president and CEO of Orange County United Way, at the time the program was launched.
314K Job Shortfall
Cisoshare is definitely meeting an acute need in the fight against cybercriminals. According to CyberSeek, an initiative backed by the U.S. Commerce Department, the country faces a shortfall of nearly 314,000 cybersecurity professionals.
“The nature of cybersecurity enables it to be a discipline that allows you to take people that have certain aptitudes and transition them into the job field,” Gentile told the Business Journal. Some of the people he has encountered during the new program even have master’s degrees.
The United Way’s “UpSkill OC” program has been helping to find candidates and are partners in the program, Gentile said.
His firm was No. 3 on the Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing small companies in Orange County, which ran in the Sept. 16 edition.
Prospects Bright
When the first four-phase session started in the summer, “we didn’t know if anyone was going to show up in the class,” which was opened up to others seeking cybersecurity training in addition to the homeless.
After the introduction, the trainees have Cisoshare internships where they learn more in-depth, on-the-job skills.
If they are able to demonstrate competency in those activities, they are put into real projects at organizations supporting the program to get on-the-job experience.
“By the end of the program they’re actually performing those roles for clients,” Gentile said. And the job prospects are bright.
The specialties cover three highest-demand roles: third-party security analysts working in organizations such as hospitals to protect data; policy analysts; and vulnerability analysts.
“Many organizations are really struggling with keeping pace with these activities,” Gentile said.
The first two classes had approximately eight participants who were homeless or highly insecure in their housing situations.
Of those, six are now in the intern phase and two participants from the first class are in the final stage working on projects.
“We’re able to get a strong pipeline of people in,” Gentile said. “We then get these folks trained, ready and into real projects in participating organizations. These organizations sign up for three- to six-month engagements with discounted pricing for participants in the program.”
“We get them to a livable wage.”
Adding to Community
He said the cybersecurity trainees are either contracted out to other companies for fixed periods or are hired outright, and all the money the outside firms pay goes either to the program participant in the form of salary or back into the program to fund future participants.
“More and more people are reaching out to us. Organizations are starting to get interested because they’re getting a really good deal and they’re doing something great for their local community,” Gentile said.
Gentile said Cisoshare had $3.9 million of revenue last year and may come close to doubling that this year. The company has about 31 employees, with an additional 19 people working as contractors. n
