State awards Mission EDC $500K training grant

Funding provides for continuation of cybersecurity certification bootcamps

MISSION, TX – October 24, 2017– The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has awarded the Mission Economic Development Corporation (Mission EDC) a Wagner Peyser grant in the amount of $496,120 to continue their series of CompTIA cybersecurity bootcamps at its CEED building in Mission. The program is set to begin in January 2018 and will consist of 3 cohorts of 40 individuals, every 12-weeks. Through this training, participants will receive the CompTIA series of professional certifications that includes A+, Network+, and Security+ at graduation.

Mission EDC has partnered, once again, with CompTIA, the world’s largest IT trade association, to continue to provide the IT related bootcamps to residents in the Rio Grande Valley. “This bootcamp is focused on filling a need in professional certification of IT workers in cybersecurity. The demand for certified workers encompasses all industries in IT departments and companies that provide IT services to businesses both large and small,” said Alex Meade, CEO, Mission EDC.

This program will provide a total of 120 participants (who meet Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) basic eligibility requirements) with a rigorous 12-week cybersecurity bootcamp utilizing its partnership with CompTIA. Participants will complete a series of CompTIA vendor-neutral skills certifications for technology professionals that are widely sought after and recognized by companies all over the United States and the world. Mission EDC’s Career Services Coordinator will provide recruitment, pre-screening, job readiness training and job placement services to participants for this intensive program.

“We are excited to continue this cybersecurity education and certification effort with CompTIA as a component of the Mission EDC E-STEAM programs aimed at developing our workforce”, said Joel Garza, Director of Technology, Mission EDC. “We need to prepare our workforce to support the everexpanding technology infrastructure with a security focus, capable of understanding security risks and deploying countermeasures. This initiative will achieve our objective by delivering technology training to students, covering the content objectives assessed in CompTIA’s industry-recognized certifications.”

Properly trained IT security staff that can analyze, monitor, and protect cybersecurity resources are in high demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that information security analysts will be the fastest growing overall job category, with 37 percent overall growth between 2012 and 2022. A career in information security analysis ranked seventh on U.S. News and World Report’s list of the 100 best technology jobs for 2017. According to the BLS, the median pay for an information security analyst is $90,120 per year.

For more information, please contact: Joel Garza, Mission EDC Director of Technology, at 956.585.0040 or jgarza@missionedc.com.

Click here to apply: Comp TIA Classes

Stay up to date