Millennials Can Close Cyber Security Skills Gap, Says Study

Businesses in the UK are failing when it comes to attracting millennials to cyber security jobs, in spite of a personnel shortage in the industry, according to new research.

A study from the Centre for Cyber Safety and Education revealed that over 50% of firms in the UK have insufficient cyber security workers to handle cyber attacks. It further found that just 6% were open to recruiting university graduates.

Another statistic showed that two thirds (66%) of firms have insufficient cyber security workers to comply with their security requirements, which, it claims, is affecting economic security.

The Center’s Global Information Security Workforce Study revealed that there could be a global shortage of 1.8m cyber security personnel by the year 2022, and that businesses will need to turn to millennials if the situation is to be improved.

Nearly one in two (47%) who responded to the survey cited a difficulty in finding the quality employees they needed as the primary reason behind the skills gap.

The report went on to explain that the gap is increasing salaries as a result of more firms competing over a shortage in talented cyber security professionals.

A sponsor for the report, (ISC)² managing director Adrian Davis, said:

“A continuing industry refusal to hire people without previous experience, and a failure to hire university graduates means Britain is approaching a security skills ‘cliff edge’ due to the perfect storm of an ageing cyber workforce going into retirement and long-term failure to recruit from the younger generation.”