As 2018 draws to a close, the state of the cyber workforce can be summed up in two words: “Help Wanted!”
The numbers prove it: In November, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released updated workforce numbers through its CyberSeek security jobs heat map. According to NIST, there were over 313,000 job openings from September 2017 to September 2018, not including the security professionals currently employed.
Just a month earlier, the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) released its yearly “Cybersecurity Workforce Study,” in which it estimated that there were nearly half a million open jobs in North America. According to the report, 63 percent of respondents deal with challenges related to a shortage of dedicated cybersecurity staff. Nearly six in 10 organizations reported that this talent shortage puts them at moderate-to-extreme risk.
If your organization is looking to hire cybersecurity professionals, it’s likely to meet fierce competition for the limited talent supply. That’s why hiring managers need to get creative to get ahead. Here are four out-of-the-box strategies to help your organization bridge the skills gap and hire top-tier cybersecurity talent in 2019.
If you have entry-level cybersecurity positions available, you can find nascent talent in the many regional colleges and universities that dot the landscape. A booth at the career fair might help plant a few seeds, but it won’t necessarily bring qualified students in droves. There’s a lot of competition for students’ attention these days, and unless you’re a thoroughly established household brand, you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves a bit and find ways to make a connection.
As many students struggle with increasing student loan debt, one way to get their attention is through by offering scholarships. Most institutions will be happy to work with you to select students that meet your criteria. Not only will your contributions expand the emerging cybersecurity talent pool, but as students approach graduation, they’ll remember those scholarships and, more importantly, your company.
If money for scholarships isn’t available, you can make an indelible mark on young minds by developing educational partnerships with instructors. Most college professors recognize the incredible value external speakers bring to the classroom to infuse the curriculum with real-world projects and issues. A great benefit of regular interactions with relevant courses and students is early access to talent; you can get to potential job candidates well before your competition sits across the table at the next career fair.
Sustaining regular interactions with courses creates a solid knowledge base, but most students want or are required to work an internship before graduation. Although summer internships are the norm, many schools have flexible programs that can span or extend into fall and spring semesters. To further diversify the talent pool, consider creating an apprenticeship program to select and grow your workforce.
