TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Innovation Labs have partnered with EDX, a global, online classroom, to launch a cyber skills center to combat the growing threat of cyber attacks.
The collaboration comes more than a year after hackers attacked the city of Tulsa’s computer systems.
Connor Godfrey is the manager of the Cyber and Analytics team at Tulsa Innovation Labs. He says the goal is to build a diverse cybersecurity workforce.
“The pipelines in this region have been hacked. Many of our companies are hacked every day, so this is something that not only Tulsa, but the greater Heartland has a great opportunity to contribute to America’s national security,” Godfrey said.
This growing threat is driving the need for an increasingly diverse workforce, and one Tulsa Community College is hoping to make more diverse.
“Opportunities like these are really ground-level opportunities that will bring an abundance of black cyber talent years from now,” said Tyrance Billingsley, CEO of Black Tech Street.
The average starting salary for employees in this field is an average of $63,000 per year. But Billingsley believes that number will grow.
“Cybersecurity will be one of the highest paying technology fields, and also one of those that doesn’t require an abundance of technical knowledge. So there is a lot of transferability from general soft skills.”
The program includes a 24-week boot camp, which is free to Tulsa residents. Students will receive a paid apprenticeship once they complete their training.
The program hopes to bring several hundred Tulsans into the growing field.
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