Houston companies need cybersecurity professionals — and universities can help. Photo via Getty Images

With an increasing number of data breaches, a high job growth rate, and a persistent skills gap, cybersecurity professionals will be some of the most in-demand workers in 2022. It’s more important than ever to have people that are properly trained to protect individuals, corporations, and communities.

Demand for cybersecurity talent in Texas is high. According to Burning Glass Labor Insights, employers in the Houston metro area have posted over 24,000 cybersecurity jobs since the beginning of 2021. But the pipeline of cybersecurity workers is very low, which means many local and national companies don’t have enough people on the front lines defending against these attacks.

Unfortunately, it looks like the cybersecurity skills gap is far from over. An annual industry report from the Information Systems Security Association shows that the global demand for cybersecurity skills still far exceeds the current supply of traditionally qualified individuals, with 38 percent of cybersecurity roles currently unfilled. This shortage has real-life, real-world consequences that can result in misconfigured systems and improper risk assessment and management.

How can companies help close the cybersecurity skills gap within their own organizations? We believe it will become increasingly important to look beyond “traditionally qualified” candidates and view hands-on experience as the same, or even more important than, the certifications or bachelor degree requirements often found in cybersecurity job descriptions.

The top open cybersecurity roles in the Houston area include analysts, managers, engineers, and developers. Employees in these positions are essential to the everyday monitoring, troubleshooting, testing and analyzing that helps companies protect data and stay one step ahead of hackers. When looking to fill these roles, hiring managers should be looking for candidates with both the knowledge and experience to take on these critical positions.

Fortunately, Houston-based companies looking to establish, grow, or upskill their cybersecurity teams don’t have to go far to find top-tier talent and training programs. More local colleges and universities are offering alternative credential programs, like boot camps, that provide students with the deep understanding and hands-on learning they need to excel in the roles that companies need to fill.

2U, Inc. and Rice University have partnered to power a data-driven, market-responsive cybersecurity boot camp that provides students with hands-on training in networking, systems, web technologies, databases, and defensive and offensive cybersecurity. Over 40 percent of the students didn’t have bachelor degrees prior to enrolling in the program. Since launching in 2019, the program has produced more than 140 graduates, some of whom have gone on to work in cybersecurity roles at local companies such as CenterPoint Energy, Fulcrum Technology Solutions, and Hewlett Packard.

Recognizing programs like university boot camps as local workforce generators not only gives companies a larger talent pool to recruit from, but also increases the opportunity for cybersecurity teams to diversify and include professionals with different experiences and backgrounds. We’re living in a security-first world, and the right mix of cybersecurity talent is essential to keeping us protected wherever we are.

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David Vassar is the assistant dean of Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. Bret Fund is vice president overseeing cybersecurity programs at 2U.

The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University has a new partnership with Chase that will offer professional resources. Photo via rice.edu

Rice University teams up with Chase for new small business initiative

on campus

A school at Rice University has been tapped by Chase for Business to help provide free, online courses to small businesses.

Rice's Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies will be offering short courses as a part of a Small Business Series.

"Chase for Business is committed to our small-business partners and their ongoing success," says James Connolly, Houston market manager for Chase Business Banking, in a news release. "We're providing tools and resources that will not only help them survive our current economy, but also thrive in the months and years to come. Partnering with the Glasscock School presents a great educational opportunity from a trusted source right here in our community."

Three courses first three courses will be available to all Chase for Business clients beginning in February. The first classes are as follows:

  • Getting Results With Creative Online Marketing taught by Tim deSilva, founder and CEO of Culture Pilot.
  • Data Storytelling and Decision Making with instructors Marissa Rosenberg and Jocelyn Dunn, both from NASA's Johnson Space Center.
  • Cash Management taught by Karen A. Nielsen, Certified Treasury Professional, Enterprise Initiatives, Zions Bancorporation.

More classes are expected to come out later this spring. This initiative is the latest in the school's efforts to offer the business community resources amid the pandemic. Last year, the Glasscock School introduced its Back in Business and Back to Work initiatives, which provided low-cost workshops, courses, and consulting from professionals and educators.

"The Glasscock School's whole purpose is to provide accessible training and education of the highest quality to our community," says David Vassar, assistant dean for professional and corporate programs, in the release. "Partnering with Chase allows us to bring our mission to small-business leaders and ultimately support the rebound of Houston's economy. We're thrilled to be a part of this effort."

Trilogy Education and Rice University have joined forces for a new program. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University teams up with workforce accelerator to create a first-of-its-kind fintech bootcamp

Back to school

As Rice University's campus continues to welcome back its students for a new year, the administration has big news about a new, innovative program to share.

Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has partnered with New York-based workforce accelerator, Trilogy Education, to provide the first fintech boot camp on a college campus, according to a representative from the company.

"Technology skills are becoming foundational for many roles in the finance, energy and life science sectors," says David Vassar, assistant dean of professional and executive programs at the Glasscock School, in a news release. "We have partnered with Trilogy Education to bring to market a boot camp that prepares students to use their technical skills in a wide variety of fintech applications, from robo-advising to cryptocurrency. Whether you are already in finance or are looking for a way to transition into the industry, this program will prepare you to build a meaningful career in the fast-moving world of fintech."

Rice University FinTech Boot Camp is a 24-week program, and the inaugural class began in July. Enrollment for the next round is open from now until November 18. The program will provide students with core coding languages and technical tools that are crucial in the industry as well as pertinent technologies like machine learning and cryptocurrency. The participants will also have career-planning services and will receive a Certificate in Financial Technology from Rice.

The financial industry is booming in Houston, per the release, and companies are in competition for trained talent. Institutions like U.S. Bancorp and JPMorgan Chase have more coding positions open than Apple and Google, the release reveals, and according to data from Burning Glass, the country has added over 1.5 million fintech jobs in the past 8 years.

"The Rice University FinTech Boot Camp comes at a critical moment of need as the city of Houston transforms itself into a national hub for enterprise technology," says Robert Bruce, dean of the Glasscock School, in the release. "We've seen several fintech companies choose Houston to open new office locations and a rising demand from our longstanding industries like energy and manufacturing to transform themselves into technology and data-driven businesses."

Last year, the school launched its first boot camp in partnership with Trilogy. The Rice University Data Analytics Boot Camp has recently grown to expand to a new location in the Energy Corridor, the release states.

"Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies is playing an important role in building the digitally skilled workforce that Houston needs to support a growing innovation economy," says Dan Sommer, CEO and founder of Trilogy Education, in the release. "The Rice University FinTech Boot Camp will help working adults in Houston capitalize on the exploding demand for technology and data skills and spur additional investment in fintech throughout the region."

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Houston startup to transform hiring process with AI, video-optimized platform

cha-cha-changes

Confident job seekers have mostly been of the mindset that if they can just get in front of an employer, they can sell themselves into an offer for the open position. The obstacle then, is getting through the screening process to get an actual interview.

Until recently, the price of admission for starting or progressing in a desired career was a resume and cover letter stellar enough to catch the eye of the human resources and recruiting team. Outside of being buried in the immense pile of resumes recruiters do not have the bandwidth to get to, standing out in the sea of candidates can be daunting.

Resumes do not tell the full story as it is and it’s almost impossible for applicants to put their potential, soft skills and work personality into a document to be reviewed. So, what’s the solution?

It is a multi-layered problem, which requires a multi-layered solution, but one of the options gaining steam in the recruitment space is provided by SeekerPitch, a Houston-based HR technology platform utilizing generative AI to make hiring and interviewing more efficient.

“I've noticed that there's a ton of people that slip through the cracks,” says Ryan Reisner, president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. “And we spend all our time interviewing people to see if they have the soft skills. Resumes are hard skills. And now with AI, anybody can build the same exact resume. Everybody can say they have communication skills, leadership skills, and a lot of people say they have those.

“But when it's all said and done, you interview those people to find out if they truly have them, and many of them don't have them. So, the resume is just a door opener. The door closer is the soft skills. So, with me being an underdog and growing up in underserved communities and just hoping to be found and applying to a bunch of places, I asked, what do I need to do to stand out from the crowd?”

Creating a solution

In addition to adding value during the actual interview, SeekerPitch solves the problem of feedback for applicants. Photo via SeekerPitch

That thought sparked the idea for the SeekerPitch platform and its signature feature that enables candidates to create video cover letters and skill-specific videos, allowing them to showcase their soft skills and personality.

In short, static candidate profiles come to life via SeekerPitch’s Pitch Sessions feature, which is purpose-built for job seekers to flesh out their full self and for employers to host multiple rounds of interviews with actionable insights from the platform’s generative AI to facilitate well-informed hiring decisions.

“Our product gives the employer a 30-second elevator pitch of an individual so they can interview people that are better fits for the jobs they are trying to fill,” says Reisner. “Unlike our competitors, we are normalizing ‘speed interviewing’ to maintain a more personal, holistic approach to the virtual interview.

“While the employer is interviewing the candidate in real time, the platform is transcribing the interview so the built-in AI model can give feedback such as culture fit, other mechanisms such as specific skills for a sales position and a total summary on that candidate’s ability to succeed in the role, which is enabling employers to make better hiring decisions and is vastly increasing the quality of the talent pool.”

In addition to adding value during the actual interview, SeekerPitch solves the problem of feedback for applicants.

“After the interview is completed, the employer has three choices: interested, still deciding and not interested,” adds Reisner. “And then if the employer is still deciding, it gives them a 72-hour countdown to make a decision and once that 72-hour window is over, that candidate is automatically rejected.

“What we have found is that job seekers, whether they're in the running or not, they just want to know, if they are moving forward or not. With our platform, they’re not stranded in feedback limbo for two plus weeks, so they love that part. They also like the holistic part where they're being judged off of who they are, their authenticity, and also their personality traits.”

Benefiting both sides of the equation

Ryan Reisner is the president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. Photo via LinkedIn

Another prime feature for employers is the video job description, which is expanding its reach with its intended audience: job seekers.

With everyone, including those in the candidate pool, now watching short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube as a lifestyle, employers can reach the next generation of the workforce using video job postings via the platform.

“Statistics show that 90 percent of job seekers don't even read job descriptions,” says Reisner. ”So, employers are automatically getting a poor candidate pool because it's easy to apply for job seekers and they just apply because it’s a numbers game. But what we have found is that the video job descriptions are an engaging medium that has vastly increased the quality candidate pool, as opposed to quantity.”

Another facet of SeekerPitch’s goal to streamline hiring is the automated scheduling process, whereby the platform uses chatbots to chat in real time with job seekers to get the best availability for interview time slots.

“We’ve also implemented an AI feature that helps the interviewer prepare for the interview based on the candidate’s profile, application and resume,” says Reisner. “It will provide questions to the interviewer that they might not have otherwise thought to ask to dive deeper into the candidate’s overall fit for the role. And based on the candidate's answers, more questions will populate tailored to that candidate.

“Then, after that interview is completed, and the employer is interested in moving the candidate forward in the interview process, it queues up the next interviewer in line to schedule that second or next round interview and so on. This automatically synchs with the employer’s applicant tracking system to get the employer all the way through the hiring process.”

Leveling the playing field

SeekerPitch won the third annual CodeLaunch Houston. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

SeekerPitch’s goal is to also raise awareness about unconscious bias in the hiring process and point it out so that an employer can review any biases their team may have and improve upon them for their process moving forward.

Thanks to the platform’s unprecedented growth and innovation, SeekerPitch won over the crowd at the third annual CodeLaunch Houston event in March. The company has now moved on to CodeLaunch “World Championship” event in Dallas latter this month. The competition brings together the 8 best and the fastest-growing startups to compete for $50,000 in deployed investments and showcase their potential to venture capitalists and angel investors from across the country.

Whether or not SeekerPitch wins the competition, they’ll continue to make strides in the hiring vertical.

“Video is powerful,” says Reisner. “It can tell a story, so our platform makes it a better experience for the job seeker, giving them a competitive edge and helps them stand out from the crowd. We’ve only been in business for six months, but we will continue to disrupt the industry with this platform, especially with the proliferation of AI.”

Port Houston lands $3M EPA grant to drive green initiatives, cleantech innovation

making moves

Port Houston’s PORT SHIFT program is receiving nearly $3 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program.

The grant, funded by the federal Inflation Reduction Act, will help promote cleaner air, reduced emissions, and green jobs.

“With its ambitious PORT SHIFT program, Houston is taking a bold step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future, and I’m proud to have helped make this possible by voting for the Inflation Reduction Act,” U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia says in a news release.

“PORT SHIFT is about more than moving cargo — it’s about building a port that’s prepared for the future and a community that’s healthier and stronger,” Garcia adds. “With investments in zero-emission trucks, cleaner cargo handling, workforce training, and community engagement, Port Houston is setting the standard for what ports across America can accomplish.”

Joaquin Martinez, a member of the Houston City Council, says one of the benefits of the grant will be ensuring power readiness for all seven wharves at the Bayport Container Terminal.

The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $3 billion to the EPA’s Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission equipment and climate planning at U.S. ports.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Houston innovator makes leap into VC to boost representation in the boardroom

Houston innovators Podcast episode 260

When Aileen Allen was contemplating a big career move — swapping sides of the table from tech company to venture investor — she was motivated by driving gender and experience diversity amongst decision makers.

"I've worked for VC-backed companies for most of my career and had the opportunity as an executive to be in the boardroom during that time," she says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "One of my takeaways was that very few of my board members looked like me. I had one or two women on any of my boards at a time in totality, and very few of my board members had been operators."

"I'd really like to change that, and I'd like there to be better representation and diversification in the boardroom," she adds.

But Allen didn't just jump feet first into the career change. She did her homework first, spending months talking to mentors, meeting investors for over 30 informational interviews, and compiling everything she learned. She says she learned how different the world of VC is compared to her time as an operator — from the unstructured workflow at a VC firm to hustle mentality you have as an operator.

This summer, she made the jump and joined Mercury as venture partner. She just recently closed her first deal for the Houston VC firm that focuses on B2B SaaS startups. She also is on the board of the Houston Angel Network and is working with leadership to grow and expand membership.

A native Houstonian, Allen spent a large chunk of her career in the Bay Area, which her most significant role at Atlassian where she oversaw product marketing as the company scaled. When she relocated back to Houston — by way of a few years in Austin's tech scene — she says she struggled at first to find Houston's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

"I think my first impression (of Houston's tech ecosystem) was, 'where is it?'" she says, adding for context that that she did relocate in 2020 when the pandemic greatly affected events and activity. "It feels like there's something that's happening in Houston, but it's smaller or maybe a bit more fragmented, and I think there's an opportunity for a lot of us on the investing side and founders who have had successful exits or are running companies at scale to do more and give back in more meaningful ways to create the presence that Austin and the Bay Area is really known for."