Efforts to close the global cybersecurity skills gap are intensifying, as the U.S. and other nations launch initiatives to recruit and retain cyber talent.
The cyber skills gap has been a concern to the White house for a while. In July 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration Announced a National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy. The strategy came after a Committee Hearing held by the Department of Homeland Security where the 500,000 vacant cybersecurity jobs were addressed.
Seeyew Mo, Assistant National Cyber Director, spoke about how many individuals assume they’re not skilled enough to get a job in cyber, while others may struggle to fill unnecessary degree requirements for these jobs even though they have the skills. Additionally, there aren’t many pathways that train people to have cyber skills or help people further develop their cyber talent. Others, like Mark E. Green, pointed out that “burnout and difficulties hiring or re-skilling professionals in the field” are also contributing factors to the cybersecurity lack.
On September 4, 2024 the White House announced the start of Service for America in a blog. In the blog, National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr. discussed the U.S. need for a strong cyber workforce, saying “there are approximately 500,000 – half a million! – open cyber jobs in the United States and that number is only going to grow as more services and products go online with the expansion of technologies like artificial intelligence.”
The Service for America program, created by the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is meant to This initiative by the Biden-Harris Administration focuses on recruiting and hiring people for jobs in cybersecurity, technology, and artificial intelligence. The goal is to prepare “our country for a digitally-enabled future by connecting Americans to good-paying, meaningful jobs in cyber, technology, and artificial intelligence.” They plan to do so by removing unnecessary degree requirements, expanding work-based learning (like through fellowships and apprenticeships), and strengthening locally-driven efforts to meet the training, education, and workforce needs in their communities for cyber jobs.
While America works to fill out its cyber workforce, other countries are also struggling with hiring in this field. The European Union says that in just Europe, “the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is close to 1 million people (around 883,000), while the number of cyber experts needed globally will soon reach 4 million.” In a recent report, Spotlight on Corruption revealed that the UKs National Crime Agency (NCA) is facing the same issues - even losing more staff than it recruited. In the 2023/2024 season, nearly a third of recruitments were unsuccessful, with turnover rates as high as 41% on some teams. There are a number of possible reasons like low job satisfaction and morale (only 21% of NCA staff were satisfied with their pay and benefits) and stagnant wages (with raises so small the pay actually decreases when inflation is taken into account). The report suggested that the NCA consider pay reform and reorganizing to make sure they can “create the workforce for the future it needs to protect the public.”
Hopefully these efforts are enough to close the cyber skills gap that appears to be growing worldwide, especially as global cybercrime costs are expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.