Ireland is suffering a severe shortage of cybersecurity expertise, according to a global online recruiter.
Figures released by Indeed on employer demand for cybersecurity professionals has shown that Ireland has the second highest share of cybersecurity roles advertised in the world, second only to Israel.
The study from which the figures were taken says that Ireland’s second position in demand for cybersecurity professionals reflects a booming technology and business hub, with more than 1200 multinationals, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Dell, having significant operations in the country.
Israel leads demand for cybersecurity professionals, followed by Ireland (Image: Indeed)
Indeed’s research reveals employer demand for cybersecurity professionals far exceeds candidate interest, pointing to a worrying shortage of talent available to fill specialist roles. Of the 10 countries analysed, Ireland had made the greatest strides towards closing the skills gap, beating France, Germany and the UK. In 2014 jobseeker interest in cybersecurity positions only met 25% of the employer demand whereas the study says it now it meets 39% of demand (2016) — an improvement of 14%.
By contrast, the study says the skills gap worsened in the UK, Brazil and Canada. The increasing threat posed by hackers and cybercriminals led the rate of cyber security job vacancies in Ireland to increase by 41.2% between 2014 and 2016, but candidate numbers have failed to keep pace with this demand.
Among employers in Ireland, the study found the field with the highest employer demand was network security, which accounted for 175.6% more demand than application security, in second place. This shows that despite the increase in cloud technology, the study said, hiring patterns indicate that much sensitive information remains behind network firewalls, requiring skills to protect it.
Ireland has improved its capability to fill cybersecurity rolls (Image: Indeed)
“The threat of cyberattack is a significant risk for Ireland, given it is one of the most dynamic technology and business hubs in Europe,” said Mariano Mamertino, economist, Indeed EMEA. “As cyberattacks increase in scale and sophistication, Ireland employers are racing to recruit the right staff to protect their business.”
“Ireland has made some progress in closing its skills gap, but addressing the chronic shortage of IT professionals is a major priority in order to continue to attract business and investment,” said Mamertino.
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