On September 16th, 2024, the UK Government released its sixth iteration of Cyber Security Skills in the UK labour market.
The report gives a thorough overview of the current situation, challenges, and opportunities in the UK cyber sector.
Diving into the report!
Understanding the cyber security landscape in a whole is the first part of any process. The research shows that the cyber security domain has been far more resilient than the wider tech sector. While 44% of business across public and private sectors have reported gaps in basic cyber security skills, 27% have reported gaps in more advanced skills.
Furthermore, it’s important to understand a particular breakdown of cyber employees. Nearly half (46%) of all businesses have just one employee responsible for cyber security. This naturally leads to a majority (62%) of cyber security professionals self-describing themselves as “generalists”.
Additionally, one key finding is that 84% of cyber security roles inside organisations are actually absorbed into wider, usually IT-related roles. Skill gaps are impossible to avoid in these conditions, where one person (often with little / no cyber security training) is responsible for a wide, technical cyber security scope!
Bridging this gap
Formal education can only help with a part of this issue. While the number of cyber security graduates has increased over the last few years and the higher education domain was receptive to market changes, there still is a significant need for training inside the industry, at all levels. It has to be aimed both at solving basic and advanced skill gaps, as well as allowing more experience employees to fill in their knowledge gaps.
63% of the cyber security workforce is working towards upskilling and certifications every year, but time and budget constraints prove to be the biggest challenges!
Does TryHackMe offer this solution?
Our firm belief is that to meet the constant demands of the market, accessible, practical, and up-to-date content—catered to their skill level and specific needs—is crucial.
At TryHackMe, we aim to solve a part of this general problem by providing real-world, practical, gamified cyber security training for all levels - ranging from people who have no previous IT or cyber experience to seasoned professionals.
Given the wide range of generalist cyber roles, we understand that a training platform needs to offer both wide and deep knowledge. For example, when it comes to basic security tasks, the report shows that businesses are least confident in dealing with malware, setting up firewalls, and dealing with breaches. All areas are extensively covered in learning paths on TryHackMe, catering to beginners through to advanced areas. Our training covers vulnerability scans, interpreting malicious code, penetration testing, forensic analysis, and much more!
We also need to remember that the cyber industry changes rapidly. Our priority is keeping our training up-to-date and relevant, so we invest heavily in developing content around AI security, Cloud Security, or DevSecOps. The research has also shown that just under half of all businesses feel unprepared to create adequate training sessions and materials, which is exactly where we come in!
Ready to start upskilling? Launch TryHackMe to supercharge your skills and take on high-level offensive and defensive security content!
If you’re a manager or business leader, check out TryHackMe Business and join hundreds of other businesses that are empowering and advancing their teams!
