More and more companies are going online and data breaches have become more frequent and expensive. The demand for IT security professionals will grow tremendously. They estimate by 2024, the cost of data breaches will grow from $3 trillion per year to over $5 trillion. This is an annual growth rate of 11% on average!
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be around 3.5 million vacant jobs in the cybersecurity niche, worldwide by 2021. Even though a lot of people will apply, only one in every 4 is qualified for the job. It can take up to 20% longer to fill an IT cybersecurity job than the average IT job.
Which IT Security positions will companies struggle to fill in 2021?
- Chief Information Security Officer
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- Cloud Security experts:
- Public cloud security
- Cloud security architecture
- Cloud application security
- Cybersecurity Engineers
- Cybersecurity Managers
- Vulnerability Analyst/ penetration Tester
- Network Engineers/ Architects
- Cybersecurity consultants
Now that we have a better knowledge of the jobs that will be hard to fill, let’s take a look at ways that a company can work towards to help fill these vacancies quicker and ye still get the right person for the job. Here are three tips you can follow:
- Make sure you prioritize skill requirements when writing the job description:
You need to think long and hard about what skills you want your employee to have and make that clear. You can also stipulate which skills will be introduced through in house training. Make your job description more targeted. - Look for employees beyond IT:
Have a look at the job you want to be filled and see if it is possible to hire a potential candidate that has a solid academic track record. You might be able to teach them the job even if they are trained in another field. - Make it easier for candidates to enter the cybersecurity talent pipeline:
Partner up with the government and other partners and see if you can remove unnecessary barriers that people face when trying to enter the cybersecurity field.
As a candidate that wants to fill one of these vacant job positions in 2021, you can upskill yourself to ensure that you tick more boxes than you did before you applied.
Below are a few courses that you can apply to help you strengthen your CV:
IT Security certifications that will help you fill in your skills Gap:
- EC-Council’s Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)
- Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) by (ISC)2
- Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (IIBA®- CCA)
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) course.
- CompTIA’s own certification.
As the demand for IT Security personal grows and becomes more in demand, it is vital that as a company you make sure that you hire the right person for the job. It is also vital that as a candidate for a potential job that you make your skills clear, well known, and where there is a gap in the market, you ensure that you get the appropriate training to ensure that you can fill that gap
