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 dust y has desc ibed its hi i g p oblem i the same te ms: too ma y ope oles, too few qualified people. The pipeli e co ve satio has typically 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 Office Tolulope Michael, is buildi g its busi ess o a diffe e t p emise: that a la ge sha e of u filled cybe secu ity wo k does ot equi e a e gi ee i g backg ou d at all.

A Pipeli e Built fo O e Ki d of Ca didateMichael’s p og ams focus o Gove a ce, Risk, a d Complia ce – GRC – the discipli e co ce ed with secu ity policy, 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 people 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 path i is sho te fo ca ee cha ge s.

As ExcelMi dCybe p eviously detailed, the ce tificatio cu iculum is built a ou d i dust y-sta da d f amewo ks i cludi g NIST CSF, ISO 27001, a d COBIT – desig ed specifically to give o -tech ical p ofessio als a c ede tialed, p actical oute i to gove a ce oles without equi i g a t aditio al compute scie ce backg ou d.

GRC: The Fastest-G owi g No -Tech ical Path I to Cybe secu ityExcelMi dCybe u s a challe ge-led fu el that has become commo i educatio busi esses: a sho t, paid 5-Day Cybe secu ity Job Challe ge i t oduces the field, followed by a 90-Day Ultimate 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 such as 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 at the field f om the outside.

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

As EMC outli ed ea lie this yea , the same GRC skill 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 just t aditio al cybe secu ity.

A T ack Reco d Built 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 Office 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 tools (C edit Veto), educatio softwa e fo Af ica schools (ExcelMi d), a d U.S. immig atio adviso y (Ve iPass).

The holdi g compa y epo ts mo e tha 160 employees 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. Each of these ve tu es ta gets a diffe e t f ictio poi t alo g the same jou ey. Each compa y add esses a diffe e t ba ie – skills, 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 Bet the Ma ket Has ‘t P iced I Yet

Whethe wo kfo ce et ai i g busi esses ca close the cybe secu ity gap at scale emai s a ope questio ; the secto has d aw sc uti y i dust y-wide ove outcomes a d p ici g, a d i depe de t outcome data ac oss bootcamp-style p og ams ge e ally is thi . But the mac o logic behi d Michael’s bet is difficult to dismiss: complia ce obligatio s a e g owi g faste tha compute scie ce g aduati g classes, a d somebody has to do that wo k.

Fo the labo ma ket, the i te esti g questio is ot whethe o e compa y solves the sho tage. It is whethe the sho tage fi ally fo ces employe s to take ca didates like those Michael t ai s se iously – people with judgme t a d domai expe ie ce f om othe i dust 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 Ultimate Cybe secu ity P og am, visit 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, Risk, 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 gets 20,000 t ai ed p ofessio als wo ldwide by 2027. Lea mo e at www.excelmi dcybe .com

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

Disclaime : This spo so ed co te t eflects the views of the co te t p ovide o ly a d ot those of this media platfo m o its publishe . It is fo i fo matio al pu poses a d ot fi a cial, i vestme t, o busi ess advice. All i vestme ts ca y isks, i cludi g loss of capital. Reade s should do thei ow esea ch a d co sult a qualified adviso befo e maki g decisio s. Speculate o ly with fu ds that you ca affo d to lose.The media platfo m a d publishe a e ot espo sible fo a y i accu acies o losses. GlobeNewswi e does ot e do se a y co te t o this page.

Legal Disclaime : This a ticle is p ovided o a “as-is” basis, without wa a ties o ep ese tatio s of a y ki d, exp ess o implied. The media platfo m assumes o espo sibility o liability fo the accu acy, co te t, complete ess, legality, o eliability of the i fo matio p ese ted. A y complai ts, claims, o copy ight co ce s elated to this a ticle should be di ected to the co te t p ovide me tio ed above.

A photo accompa yi g this a ou ceme t is available at https://www.globe ewswi e.com/NewsRoom/Attachme tNg/5838deb7-95bb-481e-9618-76552c1e6be7