Software Diligence Services (SDS) principals Charlie Kawasaki and Barbara Berge are pleased to announce the formation of the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) cybersecurity certification fund. This fund brings to fruition a concept invented by cybersecurity leaders at MHCC in 2018.

This fund covers professional certification costs for MHCC cybersecurity students, who are trained on curriculum that prepares them for a variety of security and networking professional exams. However, professional certification testing is prohibitively expensive for most MHCC students – even though it dramatically improves their employability.

As a hiring manager I’m always looking for candidates that have widely recognized vendor and industry certifications. They show me that the candidate knows the core material and has the follow through and personal drive to advance their career. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve seen certification XYZ “coursework” or “in-progress” on a resume and upon speaking with the candidate found that they were unable to complete the certificate because it wasn’t part of the program in which they were enrolled. Frankly, in a competitive market this can be the difference that sets a candidate behind the many other applicants that do hold these certifications.

Dominic Perez, VP Systems Engineering, Curtiss-Wright

In 2021, after several years looking for State of Oregon financial support for a state-wide version of this program, SDS decided to fund this on our own, and raise additional capital through outside donors, to pilot this program.

We’re also pleased to announce that DeepSurface will donate $250 to this program for every potential customer willing to participate in a product briefing. This is a compelling cybersecurity marketing technique, well received by CISOs.

Are you a cybersecurity leader or executive at a company interested in cybersecurity? Contact us on how you can make a difference.