N OW YO U K N OW

IT Faces Hiring Woes

Despite a rise in cybersecurity training, the field is unable
to fill necessary positions.
BY STEPHEN NEWMAN

T
ypically, training pro-
spective employees is
an ideal way to combat
a skills gap and fill job open-
ings. However, such a method
isn’t perfect. Even with cyber-
security job training growth,
hiring hasn’t kept up with de-
mand, according to Recruiting
Watchers for the Virtual Walls:
The State of Cybersecurity Hir-
ing, a report from analytics firm
Burning Glass Technologies.
Data from the National Center
mand for risk management skills
has increased by 133 percent over
that span. Burning Glass Technol-
ogies predicts the fastest-growing
cybersecurity skills over the next
five years to be public cloud secu-
rity and knowledge of the Internet
of Things.
Gartner’s most recent Emerg-
ing Risks Survey of executives
determined that positions related
to cybersecurity, such as cloud
computing, were among the most
difficult to find talent for. Further,
Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the
ADP Research Institute, suggests
that a pay increase may help at-
tract and retain talent. Employers
may also turn to benefits such
as paid time off, flexible work
schedules, and training and ad-
vancement opportunities.
BO NUS
Stephen Newman is a writer/ A PP
editor for ATD; snewman@td.org. CO NTENT

1.8 million
for Education Studies indicate a 2017 study by the International
that postsecondary cybersecu- Information System Security Cer-
rity training and the number of tification Consortium projected
graduates in the field rose from 1.8 million cybersecurity jobs will The number of cybersecurity jobs
33 percent to 40 percent between be unfilled in 2022. predicted to go unfilled in 2022.
2013 and 2017. But the field’s ra-
tio of employed workers to job
openings has changed little in
four years.
One factor has been that cyber-
security, which was once merely a
concern for the government and
defense industries, has grown to
become a critical function across
industries. According to Burning
Glass Technology’s database, the
number of cybersecurity job post-
ings has grown 94 percent since
2013—more than three times faster
than all other IT job postings.
As is often the case in industry-
wide hiring struggles, changing
skill demands is also affecting
the cybersecurity job market. The
report notes that the demand
for cybersecurity roles with au-
tomation skills has grown by 225
percent since 2013, while the de-

10 TD | October 2019 IMAGE | GETTY IMAGES

Copyright of TD: Talent Development is the property of Association for Talent Development
and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without
the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or
email articles for individual use.