Demand For Cyber Security Staff To Surge In 2018

The majority of recruitment agencies surveyed by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) believe that demand for cyber security staff will increase 'significantly' over the next year...

However, according to 81% of recruitment businesses, the UK workforce is unlikely to meet demand in cyber security over the next 12 months. Only 16% think it is likely that demand will be met.

The shortage of candidates to fill the increasing number of roles in cyber security means employers will push up pay. 94% of recruiters predict pay for cyber security staff will increase over the next year, while the remaining 6% think it will stay the same.

Graham Brown, Managing Director of Forces Recruitment Services, suggests that the solution to this skills shortage may lie in ex-military personnel: "Employers who do not appreciate the high quality and transferable nature of the skills and experience that former Service people can bring to a civilian role are truly missing out.

"This is particularly true with roles like cyber security that are notoriously hard to fill. However, Forces personnel work with info-sec technology that most people don't even know exists. Add to this the fact that many have been security cleared to a high level, and you have a ready-made candidate pool for the cyber security industry."