Lack of Security Specialists? 'Stop Expecting the Impossible'

Recently IB-Magazine released their special issue on human capital, and interviewed HSD innovation liaison Mark Ruijsendaal on human capital challenges within the security domain. Cybersecurity specialists are hard to find. However, the challenge of filling vacancies in this field is not just because of a lack of talent. Organisations can and should do more to attract people to the field of cybersecurity, develop and retain talent that is already present, according to him. 

 

When he looks at the security job market, he sees what he calls an immature education- and labour market. "I see a lot of unrealistic demands and job titles that are all over the place. This makes the field unattractive, as potentially interested people have no clue on their possible career path or possibilities for development." Currently he also sees many organisations expecting the impossible. "Applicants are expected to have mastered thirteen languages, have familiarity with three systems, and must have been programmers since they were thirteen years old."

 

During the interview, he touches on HSD's Human Capital Agenda Security, a programme focused on solving the mismatch between supply and demand when it comes to talent within the security domain. This programme was developed with 40 partners for the 2019-2022 period, with a new Human Capital Agenda for the years to come on the way. The basis for this will be a new study on the security job market, and there will be more focus on attracting talent that is currently not within the cybersecurity domain. For instance with www.cybersecuritywerkt.nl, a platform developed especially for side-entrants. 

 

Furthermore, he stresses the need to retain the present talent, as well as the role the government should play in the solution to these challenges. Interested in finding out what else Mark Ruijsendaal had to say on the human capital challenges within the cybersecurity domain? The full interview is available in Dutch pdfhere, courtesy of Platform Informatiebeveiliging