Yep, you read that correctly! According to The 2021 Cyber Security Workforce Study from (ISC)2, they suggested the number of additional professionals organisations need to defend their critical assets adequately stands at 2.72 million people.
But the sector needs to be more diverse. Currently, 36% of the workforce are women (according to this report by KPMG and NCSC), 10% are people who identify as LGBTQ+ and 15% are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Cyber is one of InnovateHer’s key priority areas this year. We have partnered with BAE Systems and Expleo to identify the skills gaps we need to fulfil, work with employees as role models, and fund schools to have our activities. If we want to create a cyber-resilient workforce, we must prioritise building a diverse talent pipeline and showcase roles within this sector to our next generation to fulfil the inevitable vast skills gap that exists and will continue to widen into the future.
We believe that this sector is one that can bring so much opportunity to the next generation, but we need to give schools access to this content and support students early so that they have a greater chance of picking options that would align with having a career in this industry.
Want to know more on why it is imperative to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in this field, then please join our event! You can sign up here.