Workforce development, training and staffing company nuKudo recently opened an office and cybersecurity training center in Plano to help produce the next crop of specialists in the fast-growing field.
Dean Gefen is CEO of nuKudo. [Photo: nuKudo]
Dean Gefen, founder and CEO of nuKudo, told Dallas Innovates the cybersecurity training center enrolled its first 15 Dallas-area students this summer. The free six-month training program offers pay and benefits to students, who don’t need a college degree or experience in either IT or cybersecurity.
Inside the Plano cybersecurity training center
The Plano center is nuKudo’s second training center. The first opened in 2024 at the company’s North American headquarters in San Antonio.
Gefen told Dallas Innovates the company employs 10 people in Plano who work on cybersecurity career development, training and staffing. Students gain “real-world experience rather than relying on a less immersive approach,” he said.
The company accepts fewer than 1% of applicants for the training program. Why? NuKudo said it maintains “exceptionally high standards to ensure every graduate is industry-ready and capable of handling real-world cybersecurity challenges.”
Training ‘talented people’
NuKudo’s training cohorts generate career opportunities for “talented people,” such as the 15 students in the Plano cohort, and help employers fill high-demand cybersecurity roles, Gefen said. NuKudo offers each graduate the opportunity for up to 3 years of employment in a cybersecurity role.
“Organizations do not just receive candidates. They gain professionals who have been carefully selected, intensively trained and supported through a structured employment model,” he said.
“After training, our associates are placed in meaningful roles and continue to build experience over a three-year professional commitment,” Gefen said.
High pay, high demand
Cybersecurity roles appear to be plentiful and lucrative.
CyberSeek said Texas had nearly 42,600 job openings for cybersecurity specialists in the 12 months ending in April 2025. As of August 2026, advertised annual salaries for cybersecurity roles in Texas averaged $123,875, according to ZipRecruiter.
“The demand for highly skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been greater. Organizations across industries are willing to pay top dollar to attract experts who can safeguard their digital environments,” Programs.com said.
Cybersecurity training in DFW
NuKudo joins a growing set of cybersecurity training programs in Plano and across Dallas-Fort Worth.
Richardson-based workforce development organization UpskillU offers cybersecurity and AI training, for example. And the University of North Texas at Dallas recently launched a bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity.
“Our goal is to differentiate cybersecurity education and offer an undergraduate degree that ensures students are career-ready for the opportunities ahead,” Jason Garrett, dean of the College of Business and Technology at UNT Dallas, said in a statement.
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