Relationship to KConnect
Cross-Cutting Workgroup: Certificate Completion
Success Measure: Post-Secondary Success, Thriving Family Income
Approach: Curious. Creative.
The West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology (WMCAT) is a nonprofit in Grand Rapids, MI which provides a culture of opportunity for people to make social and economic progress in their lives and community. A place-based nonprofit, WMCAT has a nineteen-year history of supporting Kent County adults on the path to economic prosperity through our tuition-free Adult Career Training Program.
Our Cybersecurity pathway, spanning 7 to 8 months, offers specialized career tracks in GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) and Cloud Security Engineering. Through a combination of professionally-led instruction, leadership and personal development curriculum, externships with local employers, and on-site supports, our students are equipped to take industry aligned national certification exams and enter their new career in the cybersecurity field.
In fall 2022, WMCAT launched a Cybersecurity pathway focused on GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) as part of our Adult Career Training Program. The addition of the tech training pathway in West Michigan was — and continues to be — aligned with employer demand for trained specialists in cybersecurity and GRC. The pathway helps to advance regional, cross-sector strategy to increase tech education and employment opportunities, in step with The Right Place’s 10-year plan to position Greater Grand Rapids as a tech hub.
The fall 2022 recruitment process was record-setting for any career training pathway at WMCAT, with 126 individuals expressing interest in the inaugural GRC cohort in the short span of six weeks. The seven-month pilot pathway began in December 2022 with 12 Kent County adults.
In June 2023, we celebrated the graduation of 11 students from the program. The 11 graduates of the pilot cohort are all BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color); 64 percent are men and 36 percent are women. Within two months of graduation, six of 11 graduates obtained employment as GRC Analysts or Security Analysts, with starting salaries between $60,000-$115,000.
Building upon the success of our inaugural GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) track in 2022-23, we added a cloud security engineering track to enroll up to an additional 15 students in 2024. A total of 24 students are enrolled in the program today and on track to graduate in October 2024. By scaling, we continue to address a market need for cybersecurity professionals as well as a call for closing the wealth gap by providing opportunities in the industry to women and BIPOC communities.
WMCAT partners with national provider GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) for Intelligent Ecosystems, or GRCIE (pronounced “Gracie”), to provide technical training in a virtual reality environment, industry-aligned certifications, connections to employer apprenticeship projects, and job search support for graduates.