CompTIA and partners work to expand the Australian cybersecurity workforce pipeline
CompTIA, a nonprofit association for the IT industry and workforce, with a consortium of partners, including AustCyber and Accenture, have released an Australian version of CyberSeek, an interactive mapping tool that tracks the state of the local cyber security job market in real time and provides resources to close the talent gap in the sector.
“The global pandemic underscores the critical importance of organisational and workforce resilience,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “Proactively preparing for the next crisis starts with cyber readiness and furthering our commitment to expanding Australia’s trained and certified tech workforce.”
In the 12 months to September 2020, there were over 14,000 job openings for dedicated and related cyber security roles in Australia, but a talent pool half the size of the national average for employers to recruit from.
For every job advertised in a cyber security related field in Australia, there are only six cyber security workers in existence in the labour market. The most in-demand cyber roles are for cyber security engineers and consultants, with over 3,500 such positions opening up in the last year alone.
The mass migration to remote working has only fueled the need for more cyber security talent in Australia, with organisations now facing a number of additional security risks including staff using personal devices or home networks to access company assets.
Michelle Price, CEO of AustCyber, whose mission is to accelerate the growth of Australia’s cyber security sector said, “Demand for cyber skills is projected to increase dramatically over the coming years. Australia has some of the best cyber talent in the world, but we need to expand the supply of talent coming through the pipeline if we are to have a vibrant and globally competitive industry.”
CyberSeek uses sophisticated data analysis and aggregation tools developed by Accenture, Burning Glass Technologies and CompTIA to analyse hundreds of millions of job postings and real-life career transitions, providing powerful insights into labour market patterns.
Toby Brennan, Director of Strategy at Accenture, said “Demand for cyber skills is already strong and will only increase in the coming years, so it’s important Australia captures this critical economic opportunity. The importance of technology on our economy was on full display this year, and as organisations adopt more digital tools there will only be a greater need to secure them.”
The CyberSeek platform was first piloted in the USA by Burning Glass Technologies and CompTIA, where it has revolutionised how the cyber security job market is understood by people at every stage of their career journey, as well as providing valuable intelligence to policy makers about the supply and demand of cyber security professionals across the country.
