Podcast Summary:
The Apex Program is opening doors to careers in cybersecurity for blind and visually impaired students across the country. With over 750,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs, this program offers a life-changing opportunity. In just 12 weeks of accessible online training, students can earn Network+ and Security+ certifications that employers value more than a college degree. Designed by David Mayne of Novacoast and championed by Dr. Kirk Adams, the Apex Program partners with vocational rehabilitation agencies in more than 20 states. Students gain hands-on training, mentoring, and job placement support, with many securing remote positions that provide both financial stability and professional growth. This program isn’t about just finding a job—it’s about building a career path in an exciting and growing field. If you’re ready to step into a future with real opportunity, the Apex Program may be your key to success.
Check out the documentaries mentioned in the episode.
To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.
Thanks for listening!
Full Transcript
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Kirk: The majority of the jobs are remote. You don’t need a 2 or 4 year degree in this field. Ive learned its certifications that matter.
David: Mission is to take people that are blind and visually impaired, help them earn their certifications, and get their entry into the IT world to start rewarding careers.
Kirk: Our aspiration is that everybody who starts the program, finishes, gets a job.
Jeff: Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson. I’m excited to have David Mayne and Doctor Kirk Adams in the studio today to talk about Nova Coast and the Apex program. It’s an interesting connection of the dots on how I came across this story, and let me just connect the dots real quick here. A great friend of blind abilities, Dan Berlin, a very successful business guy in his own right, and from TMC possibilities. His wife met a co-founder of NovaCoast. They talked. Dan introduced him to Doctor Kirk Adams, and David Mayne developed the apex program for NovaCoast in Wichita, Kansas. At Envision. And Envision is a program that we just had on blind abilities, and we talked about the Level Up program, a national program where students from across the nation attend to gain skills and opportunities for their career and their educational journey. And in the studio today, we have Doctor Kirk Adams and David Mayne to talk about the Apex program. Doctor Kirk Adams, welcome to Blind Abilities.
Kirk: Thank you so much. I have Mr. David Mayne here who is the founder of the Apex program.
David: Thank you.
Jeff: Hey, David.
David: Hey. How are you doing?
Jeff: Good. I just have to say that I saw your YouTube video and the one with you and Curtis Jackson. Such a great job. And I’ll put a link in the show notes for people can click on that and go check them out themselves. Such a great job. Such a great message.
David: Thank you.
Kirk: This is Kirk Adams, and some of you may know me. I’m the immediate past president of the American Foundation for the blind. Prior to that, the lighthouse for the blind here in Seattle, Washington. So I’ve been involved in creating career pathways and employment opportunities for people who are blind for a really long time. And if I were going to design something from the ground up, it would look a lot like the Apex program. I did not draw it up from the ground up. David Mayne did. So I think, Jeff, it would be great to have David talk to you about his history and how he came to create the Apex program, and then I came in, after things had already been,, the ball was already rolling, thanks to David. I was fortunate enough to be connected to apex, as you mentioned, through Dan Berlin. And I’ll tell that story in the time is right.
Jeff: All right. Let’s turn it over to you, David Mayne, tell us about your journey and the development of the Apex program.
David: Sure. So it’s a winding road, but we’ll get there. Back in 2019, 2020, I was a manager of a couple security operations centers for our parent company, Novacoast. I managed about 61 cyber security analysts in both the UK and in the US. In doing that, I developed training for our employees and was speaking with our owner at one point and thought it would be cool to turn this out for people that are veteran. And our very first class was actually veterans and spouses of veterans, and it went really well. And then Covid came along just for a little bit of fun to make life interesting. After Covid, we moved our corporate headquarters to Wichita. I met with an organization called envision, and I. Being visually impaired myself, I had no clue of the unemployment situation for people that are blind and visually impaired. I just I didn’t and I met with them and went through their facility there in Wichita and started hearing some statistics about 70% unemployment. And that’s an historical number. That’s not something that is high right now and low later. It’s historically around 70%, and that a lot of the jobs were menial and they weren’t financially sufficient and things of those natures. And I left that meeting and talked to our owners. And I’m like, we can do something about this. We can retool the program and bring people along and put them into great careers, not just jobs that careers that will be fulfilling and enriching and will make a financial difference in their lives. And that kind of became my goal. I took a couple of years to retool the program to make it accessible. I had to learn how to teach things like binary math to people that are blind and visually impaired, and not use a whiteboard and things like that.
So we took the time to retool it and get it to where it was accessible. And then we rolled it out. And Mr. Curtis Jackson was our very first student and he went through the program. He earned CompTIA Security+ and Network+ certifications, which are kind of the basic entry level search for IT. He was offered a position by our parent company, Novacoast, and to this day is a security analyst in Wichita, Kansas that was able to affect his life, put him into a situation that was better for him and are really our goal is to be able to repeat that and do that for others. I myself was on disability for eight years. I’d been in a car accident, 21 surgeries to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, eight years in total, two years to learn to walk, prosthetic eye, lots of other things going on in there. I was able to go back to work that I wanted to, because disability just could not help me raise the four kids of mine that I was raising by myself. I worked to make this something that the individuals going down the same road that I went down. Maybe it’s slightly different, but it’s basically the same road. We want it to be able to give them an opportunity at a career that could give them also financial stability and security. That’s kind of what we’ve created. We’re constantly tweaking it, always looking to make it better, always looking to improve it. That is the Apex program today. That’s our mission, is to take people that are blind and visually impaired, help them earn their certifications, and get their entry into the IT world to start rewarding careers.
Jeff: And who better to get involved in it than Doctor Kirk Adams?
David: Exactly!
Jeff: his specialty in employment. When I saw that connection, I was like, oh, here we go.
David: Yeah.
Jeff: Welcome, Kirk.
Kirk: Yeah, I came in after the program had been created and established, and David and NovaCoast had worked with Envision to make sure everything was accessible and had worked with Pearson Vue, who administers the certification test to make sure they are accessible. And NovaCoast got set up with the vocational Rehabilitation Agency in Kansas as a vendor. Kansas has a combined agency that serves people with all disabilities. I was introduced at the point where all that stuff had happened. They had built it and no one was coming yet. As far as, uh, students signing up. My friend Dan Berlin, those who don’t know him, he has a nonprofit called Team See Possibilities. And as a very successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, he was a chemist by trade, became an entrepreneur, bought a flavors company, became a large importer of vanilla to the US, sold his business and he provides scholarships to blind college students and takes blind people on big adventures like going to the Great Wall of China and running along the Great Wall and going to Peru and running the trails of Machu Picchu. So he’s a he’s a very dynamic guy.
Jeff: Six continents.
Kirk: Yeah, six continents. He runs startup boot camps for entrepreneurs and startups in Africa. An amazing cat. So he and his wife were on vacation in the Seychelles, and his wife went on a scuba diving trip. And on the trip was a woman named Janice, who was one of the three co-founders of NovaCoast. After the dive visiting, uh, the fact that NovaCoast had created the Apex program and wanted to serve people who were blind and they were very, very excited about it. Experience a bit of frustration that it wasn’t taking off the way they had hoped. And Mrs. Berlin said, well, my husband’s blind. Let’s get him over here and see what he has to say. And what he had to say was call Kirk. So it was a great, great day when I when I heard from NovaCoast, I had left the American Foundation for the Blind Position, relocated back home to Seattle, where I am right now, where I was born and raised, and set up a consulting practice called Innovative Impact. I focus on creating opportunities for people who are blind and have other disabilities to thrive through employment. The president of the parent company, NovaCoast, Paul Anderson, lives about 45 minutes south of me, south of Seattle. So I jumped on an Uber and went down and talked to Paul and Darren Sanders, his chief operating officer, and I explained to him the lay of the land vocational rehabilitation system, the Rehab Services Administration, Department of Ed, Office of Disability Employment Policy at Labor. School to work transition. The nonprofit community based non-profits um satellite House Chicago, lighthouse San Francisco, Dallas, etc. all these nonprofits who have a great interest in improving employment outcomes for people who are blind. We talked about assistive technology, consumer groups, the federation, the council. We talked about CosbI, the Council of Schools and Special Services for the blind and the schools for the blind. And I kind of outlined the map for them of the blindness community. And I said, I really think I can help. I did some back of the envelope figuring, I just took the numbers of how many active open cases blind people had with each VR in each state. And I made some assumptions about the small percentage of people with open cases that this would be a great fit for. I said, I think once we’re up and mature and set up as a vendor in most states, we can get 400 blind people a year into cybersecurity careers. They asked if I would like to help do that. I gladly said yes. So I’ve been a strategic advisor to the Apex program, coming up on three years now, and we’re really getting it formed and rolling. There’s about 100 students at various stages now. We have graduates who’ve earned Network+ and Security+ certifications. We have graduates who’ve become employed in the cybersecurity industry. And every month we bring in a cohort of students on the first working Monday of each month, there is a website. It’s simply TheApexProgram.com, and there is an inquiry form. And we ask people to fill out that form, which will trigger an appointment with David, who, like he mentioned, has been a manager of cybersecurity analysts, as a hiring manager knows the field, and he can have a great conversation about whether or not it’s really a great fit for them or not. Our aspiration is that everybody who starts the program finishes and gets a job. That’s the goal. So we want to make sure it’s a good fit all along. It’s 12 weeks. We used to say ten. We found it usually is taking people more like 12. If people want to take longer, they can. If people want to do it quicker, they can. But it’s it’s 200 hours of training. It’s online. There’s multiple ways to access it. There’s audio files, Braille ready files, PowerPoints, videos. It prepares people to take the two tests, the Network+ and Security+ certification test. The students are monitored. They are in a learning management system that Novacoast uses. So the David and other Apex program staff have visibility to how the students are doing. If someone seems to be faltering or struggling in a certain area, there will be an intervention. There are study groups. Once the person has finished the 200 hours of training, there’s a quiz after every module just to make sure people are on track. Then they take the tests, which are administered by Pearson. They have to request an accommodation so they’re aware that the person is going to use assistive technology. The test can be taken remotely. You need to be on a camera like anyone who takes a remote Pearson exam.
And then once the person has Network Plus and Security plus, then they have qualifications for entry level positions in IT and cyber security. A beautiful thing about NovaCoast, they are highly entrepreneurial and I love them because everything they do is profitable. They work with a lot of big global financial institutions, big banks. They’ve got security operations centers in the US, UK, they’re standing one up in Ireland, they have a conference business in which they bring in 100 plus chief information security officers from companies in the spring in Nashville in the fall in Scottsdale. So that gives us an opportunity to talk to leaders in the field and let them know about the program and to identify companies that would be interested in interviewing the graduates. Novacoast also has a federal practice with about 40 federal customers, and they have a staffing division. They have a business primarily placing higher level professionals in cybersecurity, but they are certainly involved and a resource to help us match graduates of the Apex program with employment opportunities within interview opportunities. So kind of to cap it off, a majority of the jobs are remote. You don’t need a 2 or 4 year degree in this field. I’ve learned it’s certifications that matter. Once you are in that entry level, you can add certifications depending on what you want to focus on and what your career path looks like. In the industry, there are myriad career pathways you can pursue. My favorite name for me is The Threat Hunter, so.
Jeff: I saw that.
Kirk: That sounds like an exciting thing to do. It’s a really excellent program. The numbers are small as far as graduates, but the outcomes are really good as far as people getting employed. And again, the website is WWw.TheApexProgram.com, and people can go and fill out an inquiry form if you want to learn more. If you’re a prospective students or a voc rehab counselor or someone involved in a nonprofit that has employment programs or a potential employer. We’d love to hear from you. We are set up in 24 states so far, working on Wisconsin right now. Pennsylvania and Colorado are the leaders so far in referring students. Vibrant Works in San Antonio, Texas has also done an admirable job of bringing students into the program. So I just said a lot of words, and I will I’ll stop now. And either Jeff, if you have any clarifying questions, or David, if I miss anything or misrepresented anything, please, please chime in.
Jeff: Yeah, I’ll chime in. I really like the fact that the Apex program has built into it training, certification, and placement. That is exactly what vocational rehabs across the states here, all of them are looking for, especially for the Pre-ETS. The pre-employment transition services students ages 14 to 21 are looking for an all in one package, where they can sign up, complete the 12 week course remotely at home. And with the passing of the certification, you have the placement program that is built into NovaCoast.
David: Yes.
Jeff: What more could a VR counselor ask for from a program such as the Apex program? I like what you said earlier, Kirk. If you were going to design a program, it would be much like the Apex program.
Kirk: Yeah. And Jeff, you just mentioned Pre-ETS, this is something I’m really excited about. You can earn these CompTIA certifications as young as age 13.
Jeff: Oh wow. Perfect.
Kirk: You know, blind kids are eligible for VR services starting at age 14. So as far as projects and school to work transition, I think this could be an ideal school to work transition for the right people. Right, kiddos. And we do have one blind high school student in the State of Oregon program.
Jeff: That’s wonderful. What an opportunity. I really like it. After I read the articles and went to the YouTube videos that you have on your website at www.TheApex Program.com, And that’s t h e a p e x p program.com, I came across a statement that I believe you made, Kirk, that there are over 750,000 cybersecurity jobs available right now, and that there is a problem of trying to find people to fill these jobs. I really like that Novacoast took upon them to develop a program for the blind and visually impaired plus veterans. And, Dave, you designed the program. I think this is an awesome opportunity.
Kirk: Yeah, every day there’s 750 plus thousand open jobs in cybersecurity in this country.
Jeff: Wow.
David: And that’s a US federal government number that’s not ours.
Jeff: That’s Big. Like you mentioned, David, the 30% who are employed, but they’re usually underemployed. What an opportunity. Because I heard the upward mobility of someone in the cyber security analysis position, getting certifications along the way can step up. And it’s a great career.
David: It is. And a significant financial opportunity. Not to get deep into my story that can be found, but when I got in, I was a single dad raising four kids by myself. And I had to have financial opportunity because disability doesn’t cut that. And so when I went down that road, I’ve been there, I’ve lived it. So I kind of understood where individuals that are blind and visually impaired are coming from. It’s like, okay, well, this is where they’re at. This is where we need to get them. And this really is an ideal tool for doing that and getting them into this kind of career, because you can have exponential growth financially and the careers are really rewarding. So there’s so many different versions of cyber that I tell students, get in the door, use these certifications as your key to get in the door, and then find what you like to do most in the cyber field and then specialize in that like a doctor would. And your career can really take off.
Jeff: Now they don’t have to have coding or anything.
David: No.
Jeff: Just 12 weeks training. Pass the test and your foot’s in the door.
David: Yes.
Kirk: And we basically say, Jeff, you know, people need to be able to operate effectively on a website and they need to be able to use search engines.
Jeff: Well that’s great. You got 24 states, Wisconsin coming on. That’s 25. You got half of them. We got to get more awareness out there to the counselors, to the VR agencies and the opportunities that the Apex program brings to their students.
Kirk: Well, if anyone with any VR agency goes to the website, looks at the states that were set up in, and you don’t see your state reach out to us and let us know who to talk to at your state to go through the process. We’ve really been driven by states where people have expressed interest in being students.
Jeff: Mhm.
Kirk: So if someone fills out that inquiry form, for instance, we weren’t set up in Georgia yet. We have a blind person in Georgia who wanted to do it. The model is VR pays for this. So we want VR to pay for it. As they should. That led us to focus on getting set up in Georgia, as a small example. we pursued some of the larger states California, Texas. But it does take time and effort and lots and lots of patience to get set up as a vendor in these states. So if there are students in a particular state who want to do the program, then we will focus on getting set up in that state.
Jeff: I think this is a great opportunity. 12 weeks training, couple certificates, job placement and you’re off and running on your career. No, two four year degree, no coding. It’s almost like trade school. I love it.
Kirk: The beautiful thing about working with NovaCoast as a highly entrepreneurial, privately held company is we can do whatever makes sense. Everyone’s on board with the same goal. We want to get as many blind people as possible into the cybersecurity industry and whatever flavor that takes. We have some situations where we have operating agreements with nonprofits and communities who make referrals and support students. We’re getting referrals directly from voc rehab counselors. Sometimes it’s the student who reaches out to us, and then that leads us to talking to VR. So wherever we can take a bite out of these systems and get people engaged, whether they’re government, corporate, nonprofit or community, we cover all four stakeholder groups that all share common goals of improving employment outcomes for blind people.
Jeff: that’s wonderful.
Kirk: And Jeff, I think last time you interviewed me, I was pacing the offices of the American Foundation for the Blind in Arlington, Virgina. So, that must of been…
Jeff: mmm.
Kirk: 2018, 2019, somewhere in there, so we need to do it more frequently than every seven years.
Jeff: Your microphone has improved!
Kirk: Well, I think I was on an iPhone during a thunderstorm, and now I’m on a laptop with a quality headset wired into the modem, so, things are better.
Jeff: Most definitely, we got to do it more often. And Dave, it was nice to meet you and Dave, Kirk, thank you. And the whole entire Apex Team and NovaCoast for their insight. To see the possibilities that the blind and low vision can bring to the employment field and create these opportunities. So thank you all. Thank you very much.
Kirk: Thank you Jeff.
David: Thank you.
Jeff: Such a great time talking to Doctor Kirk Adams and David Mayne. And what a great career opportunity through the Apex program. And you can find them on the web at theApexProgram.com, and we Got a link in the show notes. And be sure to contact your vocational rehab agency, your counselor, and find out more about how they can become partners with the Apex program.
Thanks for listening.
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We’d love to hear from you. I want to thank you for listening and until next time bye-bye.
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…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.