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Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap with Reskilling

Reskilling December 13, 2022




Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap with Reskilling

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65% of organizations have a cybersecurity staff shortage. But there aren't enough qualified candidates to fill vacant positions, which exposes companies to cyberattacks and data breaches.

The growing demand for cybersecurity experts has made reskilling an unavoidable option. By providing adequate cybersecurity training, focusing on specific skills, and offering reskilling opportunities to all employees, companies can bridge the cybersecurity skills gap and stay ahead of the curve.

Cybersecurity remains to be a major concern for governments, corporations, and people all around the globe. 

From ransomware attacks to problems with supply chains, cybercriminals are getting smarter, and the range of threats keeps on growing.  

These cybersecurity issues are further exacerbated by a labor shortage. There are just not enough individuals with the necessary cybersecurity skills to fill vacant positions. 

There will be more than 3.5 million vacant positions in cybersecurity worldwide by 2025, a 350% growth over eight years. 

The growing demand-supply gap for Cybersecurity experts worldwide has made Reskilling an unavoidable option for companies planning to expand their Cybersecurity workforce. 

Big data giants like Microsoft have already started working on their reskilling strategies, expanding initiatives worldwide. 

This article will analyze how Reskilling initiatives can help companies close the cybersecurity skills gaps and stay ahead of the curve. 

Cybersecurity Reskilling – The Need of The Hour 

The global cybersecurity workforce must expand by 65% to protect the organization’s critical assets fully. 

Lack of cybersecurity talent and a lack of “experienced” cybersecurity professionals are the primary reasons businesses should prioritize reskilling and upskilling their employees. 

The sample illustration below shows how Reskilling/Upskilling can give tech professionals an alternative career path in cybersecurity.  

Network Engineers, for example, can transition into the role of “Cybersecurity Engineer” by acquiring programming, cybersecurity, and risk management framework skills.

Given below are some leading practices for designing reskilling programs that will help your company close cybersecurity gaps and nurture cybersecurity talent: 

Cybersecurity Training 

Providing adequate cybersecurity training to all staff is the most useful and effective strategy to bridge the cybersecurity skills gap. In addition to reducing the likelihood of a breach occurring, training also gives you a chance to better use the skills of your current workforce.  

Rather than treating training as an afterthought, make it clear to your IT team that it is a top priority. Consider gamifying skill development to inspire friendly competition and collective enjoyment of successful outcomes. 

Train Your Staff on Specific Skills 

To improve your company’s efficiency in cyberspace, you should focus on training your staff to develop the specific skills it lacks. This lets you put more resources into reskilling in skills like security analytics and cloud security than into potentially fruitless multi-disciplinary programs. 

Offer Cybersecurity Reskilling to The Entire Workforce 

Make reskilling in cybersecurity available to all employees, not just those working in IT. It’s possible that some of your staff members who aren’t currently working in IT would be interested in making a career switch to the emerging sector of security because of its recent rise in importance. 

Use IT Specialists as Mentors 

Utilize your IT specialists that are knowledgeable about security as mentors who will guide other people as they increase their security expertise and drive for career advancement. 

Collaboration and work management solutions that monitor employee development toward new cybersecurity skill sets and highlight the ROI of human capital investments in security are also beneficial. 

Create Opportunities for Professional Advancement Inside the Company 

Retaining employees is a huge issue in the cybersecurity industry, partially due to the high demand for specialists. Therefore, you must make your cybersecurity staff believe they have the chance to advance in your company and enhance their abilities. 

Offering opportunities for internal professional growth is one of the finest ways to invest in and keep hold of your top talent since it benefits both the business and the person. 

The future of cybersecurity will include a wide range of mission-critical positions, from the help desk staff to digital forensics professionals and compliance specialists. Each of these positions calls for ongoing training and specific automation tools.  

Draup’s AI-powered talent intelligence platform simplifies and enhances reskilling initiatives with its one-of-a-kind ‘Reskill Navigator that allows people, and management teams, to handle skill gap concerns. This, in turn, will allow you to meet your current cybersecurity requirements and empower your staff to create optimum security outcomes for the coming years. 

The AI-powered analytical platform provides real-time insights into demand and supply sources of the talent pool, soft skills, and hard skills, and the information necessary to design reskilling programs.

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