There are several reasons why employers may find it difficult to hire the right cybersecurity talent for their company. These factors include the lack of formal education, the lack of structured training and the cost of hiring and training new employees. By focusing on a narrow set of attributes, employers can target a small group of candidates who have the right combination of skills and attributes. Here are some ways to evaluate cybersecurity candidates. Listed below are five reasons why cybersecurity talent assessment is essential.
Lack of formal education
There’s a growing shortage of cybersecurity talent, and lack of formal education is one of the main contributing factors. The skills gap is not going away, and the shortage is not slowing down, either. New recruits won’t necessarily fit into traditional full-time roles. There will likely be a million or more ethical hackers by 2022, according to the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. The right training can help close the gap.
A lack of standards in cybersecurity talent assessment complicates the recruitment process. Unlike other sectors, there are few metrics to assess cybersecurity talent. Many job descriptions don’t match up with actual duties, creating an unhappy workforce. Fortunately, the NIST Cybersecurity Workforce Framework has established a set of national standards. However, most job descriptions are not industry-standard and don’t accurately represent the duties and responsibilities of cybersecurity professionals.
Lack of structured training
One of the main reasons for the lack of cybersecurity training is the fact that the field is so broad that there is no single curriculum that covers all of the necessary knowledge and skills. Cybersecurity professionals must be trained in a broad range of skills and techniques to be effective. In order to provide cybersecurity professionals with the necessary tools to keep their organizations safe, companies need to invest in training programs that help them build their technical proficiency. Without structured cybersecurity training, professionals may find themselves in the middle of a crisis or unable to provide help when they need it.
According to a survey by cybersecurity firm Cyberbit, 61 percent of Indian organisations lack formal cybersecurity training. In addition, almost two-thirds of these professionals work in a remote environment, compared to just 23 percent who work on-premise. Another reason for a lack of cybersecurity training is the fact that most professionals do not receive formal training from their organisations. Despite this, eighty-nine percent rely on classroom training, external certificates, and tabletop exercises to learn cybersecurity. Often, the training takes place in a classroom, emphasizes theory and gives minimal practical exposure.
Lack of experienced candidates
While the number of cybersecurity professionals continues to rise and types of cybercrimes proliferate, some tech analysts and associations have misrepresented the shortage of skilled workers. Many of these associations and tech firms are basing their projections on job board listings or surveys with limited participation. Moreover, a large portion of cybersecurity jobs should not be counted in the shortage, as they are advertised in multiple sources, including job boards. Moreover, many cybersecurity employees may be tempted to change their jobs after two or three years.
Unfortunately, many organizations require years of experience. Indeed, it may be difficult to hire a candidate with these qualifications if the job description requires that the candidate have a degree in computer science or information technology. Hence, it is important for hiring managers to rethink their hiring methods. Hiring managers should also be prepared to engage in meaningful conversations with candidates about their company values. The cybersecurity industry continues to advance at a faster pace than any other field, and hiring managers may be taking this for granted.
Cost of training
Cost of cybersecurity training varies greatly, with some sources citing a base price of $5,000 while others cite $12,500. The cost of cybersecurity training can be even lower than this, and some of the basic courses are free online. If your organization is unsure how much to spend, research your options to find the most cost-effective training. Ultimately, the cost of not being secure could cost your company a lot of money, so it pays to do your research before committing to cybersecurity training.
Whether your company’s employees are on the internet all the time or using their personal devices for work, investing in cybersecurity training can help your company remain safe from cybercrime. Cybersecurity training can help you reduce incidents and reduce the cost of supporting the organization. Additionally, educating your employees on cybersecurity will foster an affinity with clients and allow you to discuss their additional needs on a regular basis. This way, you’ll have regular opportunities to address their concerns, as well as your own.
Importance of talent assessment
Managing cybersecurity talent requires a strategic approach. It is not enough to hire cybersecurity professionals, you must also keep track of their engagement. Employee engagement data is crucial for determining which employees perform best. In addition, it is important to partner with internal organizational units, such as HR and Learning & Development, to understand which aspects of their work affect employee engagement. This way, you can influence employee engagement, which will in turn increase the quality of the cybersecurity workforce.
To ensure that you are hiring the right person, a thorough assessment of a candidate’s skills is imperative. Work sample tests are the most common types of skills assessment, and they are highly predictive of actual job performance. But only if these tests are administered and scored properly will they produce the desired results. While they’re not foolproof, these tests can drastically improve selection decisions and have a long-term positive impact. Moreover, cybersecurity talent assessment can reduce the costs associated with bad hiring. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average cost of a bad hiring decision is 30% of the individual’s first-year expected earnings. This cost is particularly high when you consider that highly skilled cybersecurity roles often start in the six-figure range.