‘Really positive signs’: UK cyber jobs have tripled since 2021, but skills shortages are still hampering industry growth

Cybersecurity jobs have surged across the UK over the last five years, according to new research from Socura - but CEO Andrew Keys tells ITPro there’s still a long way to go to tackle rampant skills shortages.

Analysis of more than 400 occupations tracked by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found cybersecurity is not only the fastest growing IT profession, but also the fifth-fastest overall in the UK.

Figures from the Socura report show the number of security practitioners has grown by 194% since 2021, now approaching 84,000 across the country.

This huge growth underlines the growing strength of the industry and importance to the UK economy, Keys told ITPro, with the sector now boasting more cyber pros than architects, vets, and farm workers.

“They’re really positive signs,” he said. “The industry’s growing really fast, the fifth-fastest growing industry in the UK, so it’s really good to see that emphasis.”

The increase in jobs across the industry, and indeed the country, comes at a critical time, Kays noted. With a spate of devastating attacks on big brands last year, such as Jaguar Land Rover and major retailers, means businesses across an array of industries need all the help they can get.

“Cyber is definitely high on everybody’s risk registers when you’re running a business,” he told ITPro. “The board are talking about it. It’s a real conversation point.”

“All of that of course, is driving the demand for cyber expertise.”

In terms of the availability of that expertise, the Socura findings point toward very positive signs on this front. In 2021, for example, figures show there was one cybersecurity professional per 196 businesses across the country. Today, that stands at one for every 68 businesses.

Still work to do with the cyber skills gap

While Keys noted this is a cause for celebration, there’s still a long way to go before tackling long-standing skills shortages.

“Cyber skills are still in short supply,” he told ITPro, and with businesses facing an increasingly perilous threat landscape, boosting numbers further needs to be a key focus.

Cyber skills shortages have been a long-running point of contention across a range of industries in recent years, and it’s an issue that has a direct impact on enterprise safety.

As far back as 2022, research from Fortinet noted that around 80% of data breaches came as a direct result of cyber skills shortages. Nearly four years on from that study and the conversation over skills remains roughly the same.

Analysis from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) found that nearly half (49%) of businesses had a basic skills gap, for example.

Separate research from De Montfort University last year also warned that continued shortages on this front are leaving the UK at huge risk of attacks, urging greater effort to plug gaps in the workforce.

According to the De Montfort report, a key factor here lies in "misaligned supply and demand”, whereby universities are producing graduates ready to enter the industry, yet businesses aren’t engaging with them.

Often this is simply down to the graduates not having the specific skills an enterprise is looking for, or the fact they’re looking for more experienced practitioners.

"The disconnect lies in the types of skills being taught versus those needed—particularly at mid-level and specialist tiers," the report noted.

Kays told ITPro that alternative routes into the industry and ways of learning are now proving vital for enterprises unable to access talent. Reskilling, for example, is a valuable way to plug internal gaps, while apprenticeships have proved highly effective in bolstering numbers.

“What we have seen, and are supporting as well, [is] it’s actually people doing more kind of ‘on the job’ learning,” he explained.

“So instead of doing the formal degree routes, actually start to look at apprenticeships with organizations and maybe skip that more formal education and be trained on the job.”

“I think that's becoming an increasingly bigger path for people to join cyber which is great and, of course, re-skilling as well.”

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