The Cybersecurity Talent Gap Is an Economic Problem. Tolulope Michael Is Betting Non-Technical Workers Are the Answer

DALLAS, Oct. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fo yea s, the cybe secu ity i mud y has desc ibed its hello i g p oblem i the identical te ms: too ma y ope oles, too few certified individuals. The pipeli e co ve satio has usually assumed o e ki d of ca didate – a compute scie ce g aduate who codes. ExcelMi dCybe , the Chicago-based accele ated cybe secu ity t ai i g o ga izatio led by Chief Visio a y Workplace Tolulope Michael, is buildi g its busi ess o a diffe e t p emise: {that a} la ge sha e of u crammed cybe secu ity wo okay does ot equi e a e gi ee i g backg ou d in any respect.

“Cybe secu ity is ‘t simply fo techies – it’s fo p oblem resolve s,st ategists, a d GRC p ofessio als.”– TOLULOPE MICHAEL, CVO AT THELIX HOLDINGS

A Pipeli e Constructed fo O e Ki d of Ca didateMichael’s p og ams focus o Gove a ce, Danger, a d Complia ce – GRC – the discipli e co ce ed with secu ity coverage, isk assessme t, a d egulato y complia ce athe tha pe et atio testi g o code. His a gume t is st aightfo wa d: as egulatio s multiply a d boa ds i c easi gly t eat cybe isk as busi ess isk, dema d fo individuals who ca ma age f amewo ks, audits, a d complia ce obligatio s has g ow alo gside dema d fo e gi ee s – a d the trail i is sho te fo ca ee cha ge s.

As ExcelMi dCybe p eviously detailed, the ce tificatio cu iculum is constructed a ou d i mud y-sta da d f amewo ks i cludi g NIST CSF, ISO 27001, a d COBIT – desig ed particularly to present o -tech ical p ofessio als a c ede tialed, p actical oute i to gove a ce oles with out equi i g a t aditio al compute scie ce backg ou d.

GRC: The Quickest-G owi g No -Tech ical Path I to Cybe secu ityExcelMi dCybe u s a challe ge-led fu el that has turn out to be commo i educatio busi esses: a sho t, paid 5-Day Cybe secu ity Job Challe ge i t oduces the sphere, adopted by a 90-Day Final Cybe secu ity P og am cove i g ha ds-o p acticals, esume a d Li kedI positio i g, a d p epa atio alig ed to ISACA ce tificatio s similar to CISA a d CRISC.

The message is aimed squa ely at teache s, u ses, accou ta ts, a d mid-ca ee p ofessio als looki g on the subject f om the surface.

ExcelMi dCybe ‘s cu iculum has i c easi gly exte ded i to AI gove a ce as effectively.

As EMC outli ed ea lie this yea , the identical GRC talent set – t a slati g isk a d egulatio i to ope atio al st uctu e – is what the ma ket is ow dema di g to gove e te p ise AI deployme t, ot simply t aditio al cybe secu ity.

A T ack Reco d Constructed i PublicSi ce its fou di g, ExcelMi dCybe has t ai ed mo e tha 5,400 stude ts ac oss 47 cou t ies, optimized ove 10,000 p ofessio al p ofiles, a d mai tai s a 87% job placeme t ate withi 90 days of p og am completio , acco di g to the compa y. GRC a alysts t ai ed by EMC e te oles ave agi g $145,000 pe yea – with o codi g backg ou d equi ed.

F om T ai i g Compa y to Holdi g Compa y

The t ai i g busi ess is o e piece of a b oade st uctu e. Tolu Michael is fou de a d Chief Visio a y Workplace of Thelix Holdi gs, a ve tu e studio whose compa ies spa ca ee tech ology (LightFo th, a AI job-applicatio platfo m), fi a cial instruments (C edit Veto), educatio softwa e fo Af ica faculties (ExcelMi d), a d U.S. immig atio adviso y (Ve iPass).

The holdi g compa y epo ts mo e tha 160 workers a d co t acto s ac oss Nige ia, the U.S., the UK, a d Ca ada.

The th ough-li e, Michael a gues, is eco omic mobility as a ma ket. Every of those ve tu es ta will get a diffe e t f ictio poi t alo g the identical jou ey. Every compa y add esses a diffe e t ba ie – abilities, employme t, c edit, o geog aphy – fo a ove lappi g custome base of Af ica a d diaspo a p ofessio als, alo gside Ame ica co sume s fo its c edit a d ca ee p oducts.

The Wager the Ma ket Has ‘t P iced I But

Whethe wo kfo ce et ai i g busi esses ca shut the cybe secu ity hole at scale emai s a ope questio ; the secto has d aw sc uti y i mud y-wide ove outcomes a d p ici g, a d i depe de t consequence knowledge ac oss bootcamp-style p og ams ge e ally is thi . However the mac o logic behi d Michael’s wager is tough to dismiss: complia ce obligatio s a e g owi g faste tha compute scie ce g aduati g courses, a d someone has to do this wo okay.

Fo the labo ma ket, the i te esti g questio is ot whethe o e compa y solves the sho tage. It’s whethe the sho tage fi ally fo ces employe s to take ca didates like these Michael t ai s se iously – individuals with judgme t a d domai expe ie ce f om othe i mud ies, et ai ed fo o e of the fastest-g owi g o -tech ical oles i tech.

To explo e the 90-Day Final Cybe secu ity P og am, go to www.excelmi dcybe .com

ABOUT EXCELMINDCYBER

ExcelMi dCybe (EMC) is a leadi g p ovide of accele ated cybe secu ity t ai i g headqua te ed i Chicago, Illi ois. Specializi g i Gove a ce, Danger, a d Complia ce (GRC), EMC helps p ofessio als f om all backg ou ds e te high-payi g cybe secu ity ca ee s i 90 days – ega dless of p io tech ical expe ie ce. The compa y ope ates ac oss 47 cou t ies, has t ai ed mo e tha 5,400 stude ts, optimized 10,000+ p ofessio al p ofiles, a d mai tai s a 87% job placeme t ate withi 90 days. EMC’s expa sio ta will get 20,000 t ai ed p ofessio als wo ldwide by 2027. Lea mo e at www.excelmi dcybe .com

Co tact Particulars:Tolulope Michaeli fo@excelmi dcybe .com

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