The application deadline is nearing for a Cybersecurity Career Accelerator program, sponsored by the city of Sacramento and open to residents of the greater metro region whose employment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using about $1.7 million of the $89 million in federal grant money that the state awarded to the city through the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, the program aims to train and help find employment for IT professionals who lost a job or had their wages reduced as a result of the recession stemming from the pandemic. The grant funds are intended to cover such costs as training, workforce development or retraining.
The application deadline has been extended to Oct. 31.
The Career Accelerator program was created by Carmen Marsh, chief executive officer and managing partner of Inteligenca, a Roseville consultancy. The program is being overseen by the Greater Sacramento Urban League.
Marsh teamed up with the Greater Sacramento Urban League, CompTIA, Square Root Academy, Code for Hood and Animation Intern, forming what they call Collective6 “to fast-track programs to create new job opportunities for Sacramento Valley residents,” she said in an announcement on LinkedIn.
The CARES Act funding has to be spent by Dec. 31, she said.
She noted that the 12-week program will train students for a job in the cybersecurity field in much less time — 70 percent faster than most training programs.
The program asks students to choose a track — administrative or technical — and to complete an online technical knowledge evaluation to assess their skill level and help with placement into the appropriate curriculum. The program has coaches and mentors to help students determine whether they want to study the tech side (coding, software and other “hard” cybersecurity skills) or the administrative side (sales or account executive positions).
“Sacramento wants to put these (displaced) workers back to work,” Marsh said. “That’s the goal — that’s why they issued this grant.”
