Demand for Security Specialists Grows Rapidly

The demand for security specialists has more than doubled over the past three years. In the third quarter there were almost 800 vacancies open for security specialists, compared to 380 in the last quarter of 2016. The number of vacancies for analysts has grown by 17%.

Another interesting finding is that in Q3 compared to Q2 the demand for ‘Security Specialist’ grew by 9.4% (from 702 to 768). This can be concluded from an analysis of the IT labour market by iSense.

Striking is that the number of vacancies for 12 out of 14 programmer jobs has decreased. Especially the decrease in demand for .NET, PHP, JAVA and Linux/Unix developers is notable says iSense. The demand for programmers had been growing steadily since 2014. Contrary to this downward trend the demand for programmers of industrial systems (PLC: Programmable logic controller) grew 3,9% from 1021 to 1061. This increase hints to the increased attention for IoT and robotics with security. Within The Hague Security Delta (HSD) we also notice the increasing importance of combining Operational Technology with Information Technology. This brings with it new risks and an increasingly complex stakeholder field which requires thinking in chains rather than individual organisations. Aside from technical knowledge, competences like collaborating, communication and themes like risk thinking and governance are increasingly important.

Human Capital Agenda 

Stimulating retraining programmes to grow the talent pool, and increasing the number of students that choose for a career in cyber security is also part of the Human Capital Agenda (HCA). The Human Capital Agenda is set up in cooperation with- and for HSD partners, and aims to create access to talent.

Two initiatives from HSD partners are currently working on increasing the supply of security and IT specialists. Partner ITvitae trains people with autism to become specialists in security & IT, and mediates and matches its graduates with organisations. Another example is project MakeITwork - an initiative of the Amsterdam University of Applied Science - who offer a 11-month IT or security trainings for the higher-educated, irrespectively of the person’s background.

Source: executive-people.nl