What can companies do to capitalize on the current liquidity in the job market to nurture new cybersecurity talent?
We all know there is a lack of cyber security skills. Worldwide, talent deficits are now measured in millions. We’ve all heard of great resignations: a period of turmoil in the job market when workers re-evaluate their careers in the wake of the epidemic. At first glance, this may seem like bad news for industries like cyber security where the demand for skills is already very high. A recent US research claims That nearly three-quarters (72%) of employees in IT roles are considering leaving their jobs within the next 12 months.
However, look beyond depression and there may be an opportunity here for employers, if they prefer to accept it. Through proper recruitment policies, companies can capitalize on the volatility of the job market to attract new talent. In this way, they can improve their security stance and pursue secure digital transformation, as well as encourage innovation as an essential driver of progress.
Why security has a skills challenge
A New research ISACA from Industry Body features insights from more than 2,000 cybersecurity professionals worldwide. It claims that 63% have incomplete security positions, up from 8% a year, and 62% think their team is understaffed. Fifth says it takes more than half a year to find a suitable candidate for the open position.
The bad news continues. About 60% of respondents reported problems retaining their existing staff, up 7% from the previous year. The main reasons for leaving talent are:
- Recruiting by other companies (59%)
- Inadequate Salary / Bonus (48%)
- Limited career advancement opportunities (47%)
- High pressure level (45%)
- Weak support from management (34%)
Clang with other industry research results. According to the ISC, global cyber security skills are in short supply now 2.7 million workers Worldwide, including around 200,000 in Europe. And in the UK, Security leaders demand half Recently, they are considering resigning due to stress and harassment.
A bad time to lose skills
At a time when 43% of organizations told ISACA that they had faced more attacks last year, a lack of skills was making them less secure. (ISC) শীর্ষ According to the report, the top consequences of staff shortages are:
- Incorrectly configured system (32%)
- Not enough time for proper risk assessment (30%)
- Critical system slow patching (29%)
- Process and Process Monitoring (28%)
There are ways to alleviate the talent shortage. Automation and machine learning (ML) can take on some mundane processes and free up employees to work on more important tasks. But companies still need people to train and explain the results of many ML systems. Outsourcing is another option, but it can be costly and providers often do not have sufficient knowledge of client companies.
Where is the opportunity?
That’s bad news. But peer through the clouds and some ray of hope has just begun to dawn. The truth is that traditional recruitment methods have long contributed to the security skills crisis. Many organizations seek candidate recognition and university degrees. In some cases, hiring managers don’t even go to interview potential candidates because automated HR software has filtered them out.
Yes, a certain amount of technical skills is required. But a lot can be taught in the job. Many difficult skills to teach such as:
- Problem solving
- Interpersonal / Communication
- Attention to detail
- Complex simplification
- Curiosity
- Strategic thinking
All of this is arguably as important as recognition and degree. In fact, ISACA survey respondents said they see soft skills (54%) among today’s professionals. Blinkard recruitment policies have also contributed to the lack of diversity in different industries. This means that employers are missing out on new perspectives and different ways of thinking that can add tremendous value to their security teams, not to mention constantly helping to fill the skills gap.
Time for change
So what can employers do to tap into great resignations and capitalize on the current liquidity in the job market? Ten things come to mind:
- Focus not only on accreditation, certification, and university degrees, but also on actual experience and appetite for learning.
- Retrain HR algorithms so that they do not unnecessarily filter out potential candidates
- Change the recruitment culture to one that focuses more on training candidates for the job
- Application for talent within the organization in an adjoining department like IT
- Reach out to outside talent in roles including math, database management and even ex-military operatives
- Provide advanced support for single parents and mothers returning to work after having children. There may be many Consider a career move After taking a break
- Increase pay packages to reflect the high-stress nature of many security roles and functional critiques for business
- Do more to retain existing employees through mentorship and career development plans
- Set goals for diversity and stick to them
- Close the pay and promotion gap
This is certainly not a complete list. By becoming more creative with their hiring and developing a culture around cyber security, employers can actually benefit from this unique time in the labor market. As the threat mounts, they must pull out all stops.
