Grant Thornton and NextGen Cyber Talent team to offer cybersecurity courses to underserved students

The privacy-focused coursework will equip and empower college-aged students in the San Francisco Bay Area

SAN JOSE, Calif. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grant Thornton LLP, a leading professional-services firm, has teamed with nonprofit education provider NextGen Cyber Talent to develop a slate of cybersecurity coursework for underserved and underprivileged college-aged students in the San Francisco Bay Area. The free courses will help new and diverse talent enter an increasingly vital industry in need of capable professionals.

The courses, which Grant Thornton developed, initially focus on privacy trends, technology and international regulations. Throughout the coursework, students can engage with demos, trainings and certifications offered by OneTrust, one of the most widely-used platforms to operationalize privacy, security and data governance.

“In recent years, major companies have enhanced their cybersecurity efforts by hiring privacy professionals, but there still remains a shortage of minorities in this all too important field,” said Derek Han, Cybersecurity and Privacy Solution leader at Grant Thornton. “The average data breach costs companies a staggering $3.92 million. These troubling statistics paint a clear picture: Skilled privacy experts have never been more crucial to customers’ peace-of-mind and a company’s financial wellbeing — and we hope that teaming with NextGen Cyber Talent will help equip underserved college-age students to enter this growing and crucial field.”

NextGen Cyber Talent will work with community colleges, industry partners and other nonprofit organizations to offer these courses to around 100 young people each year. These students will either have an educational background in cybersecurity or an interest in a cybersecurity career. The courses will be available in-person or on-demand through the NextGen Cyber Talent platform. Upon course completion, NextGen Cyber Talent will help students with job placement.

Dhawal Thakker, Risk managing director at Grant Thornton, adds that the firm’s collaboration with NextGen Cyber Talent further solidifies Grant Thornton’s commitment to supporting underserved communities. “Cybersecurity, and privacy in particular, are important to all industries and all consumers — yet there is a shortage of talent from underrepresented populations armed to address these issues. Our dedicated team of cybersecurity and privacy professionals will make an impact by sharing their experience with students in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

“The work with Grant Thornton is part of our continued efforts to cultivate young, diverse talent while making the cybersecurity industry more inclusive and accessible,” adds Krishnan Chellakarai, founder and chairman of NextGen Cyber Talent. “Grant Thornton leads the industry in predicting the risks of tomorrow while protecting companies today. Working together, we will be able train highly skilled privacy professionals that companies demand in today’s evolving world.”

To learn more about NextGen Cyber Talent and Grant Thornton’s privacy training courses, visit www.nextgencybertalent.com/students. For more information about Grant Thornton’s cybersecurity and privacy services offerings, visit www.grantthornton.com/cybersecurityandprivacy.

About NextGen Cyber Talent
NextGen Cyber Talent is a non-profit providing a platform to increase diversity and inclusion in the cybersecurity industry. It brings together cybersecurity experts, solution providers and enterprises to make a difference in the underserved and underprivileged community and address a mounting cyber skills shortage and talent gap. To learn more, visit www.nextgencybertalent.com.

About Grant Thornton LLP
Founded in Chicago in 1924, Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms. Grant Thornton, which has revenues of $1.92 billion and operates more than 50 offices, works with a broad range of dynamic publicly and privately held companies, government agencies, financial institutions, and civic and religious organizations.

“Grant Thornton” refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another’s acts or omissions. Please see grantthornton.com for further details.

About OneTrust
OneTrust is the #1 fastest-growing company on Inc. 500 and the category-defining enterprise platform to operationalize trust. More than 10,000 customers, including half of the Fortune Global 500, use OneTrust to make trust a competitive differentiator, implementing central agile workflows across privacy, security, data governance, GRC, third-party risk, ethics and compliance, and ESG programs.

Learn more: OneTrust.com and LinkedIn.