E2E Partner Cisco explores the crisis facing the cybersecurity industry

More than half of UK businesses have at least a basic cybersecurity skills gap. Here’s what can be done.

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The numbers are sobering. A recent report from (ISC)2 into the global cybersecurity workforce has found that, while the global cybersecurity workforce is as big as it’s ever been at 4.7 million people, so too is the gap between the number of roles available and the number of qualified individuals to fill them, at 3.4 million. UK government research confirms this view, finding over half of UK businesses have at least a basic cybersecurity skills gap and that this shortage has not reduced significantly in the past four years.

The difficult truth is there are no quick or easy wins to this problem. But we can help boost the recruitment pipeline with diverse, talented cybersecurity candidates.

Upskill People at all Stages of Their Learning Journey

With the talent shortage and disparity between genders in the industry, we can’t afford to be selective about who we engage with. We must encourage a broad range of people into cybersecurity, from school-age girls to professionals seeking a career change, and extend hiring beyond the traditional academic career paths. We know diversity in backgrounds will pay dividends later and create a much stronger workforce.

Cisco’s Networking Academy Offers Free, Self-Paced Learning

To help bridge the digital skills gap, we have built the Cisco Networking Academy, one of the world’s longest-running digital-skills-to-jobs programs. The content is 100% agnostic – we do not teach Cisco, we teach skills.

Individuals can access basic skills to professional certification and the platform is entirely free of charge. Some 95% of students completing certification-aligned courses attribute their participation in Networking Academy to obtaining a job and/or education opportunity.

There has truly never been a better time to upskill in cybersecurity, as it was highlighted as a top concern at Davos 2023. And where there is threat, there is opportunity. Governments and businesses worldwide are tackling cyberthreats of all kinds daily and urgently need more skilled people to help keep these increasingly sophisticated attacks at bay.

If you are interested in upskilling your cyber security knowledge, check out Cisco’s Network Academy today

You can view the complete E2E International 100 track here.