After over a decade of helping growing organizations address hiring challenges and labor shortages, I know a talent crisis when I see one. The numbers are alarming: while the world has moved online, the supply of professionals to protect us hasn’t kept up. The annual cost of cybercrime is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2021, yet the predicted shortfall in cybersecurity professionals is expected to reach 3.5 million. A recent report by PwC shows that the cybersecurity talent gap will hit 1.5 million job openings by the end of 2019 alone.
This talent gap has placed many organizations in an extremely tough spot. With so many job openings available through traditional recruitment channels, employers are facing increased competition to engage cybersecurity talent. With an abundance of roles and a lack of skilled employees, employers don’t always receive applications from top talent. Companies are forced to hire people with little experience in the specialist skills required to operate top-tier security functions. For every ten cybersecurity job ads posted on Indeed, only about seven people click.
With supply and demand clearly off-kilter and the staffing and recruitment industry not keeping up, I have identified three actionable ways organizations can address the cybersecurity talent crisis today.
