As globalization, digital transformation, and the rapid adoption of new technologies change how businesses operate, organizations across all sectors face unique challenges when hiring and retaining skilled professionals. The cybersecurity industry is no exception. Today, there is a shortage of nearly 4 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide. With a consistent year-over-year increase in the demand for qualified practitioners, this deficit shows no sign of slowing. Businesses everywhere feel the impacts of this cybersecurity skills shortfall, with 84% experiencing at least one breach in the past 12 months. Additionally, nearly 70% of leaders indicate their organization faces additional risks due to the cybersecurity skills shortage.

Shining a light on the cybersecurity workforce challenge, the World Economic Forum recently published its Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework, which is intended to serve as a reference for public and private decision-makers concerned by the industry workforce shortage and committed to developing and nurturing robust cybersecurity talent across their respective sectors. The framework is a product of the Forum's Bridging the Cyber Skills Gap initiative, which brings together more than 50 global public and private organizations committed to building sustainable cybersecurity talent pipelines.

This output offers actionable approaches for helping organizations build talent pools and is organized by four priority areas: attracting talent to the cybersecurity field, educating and training cybersecurity professionals, recruiting the right people, and retaining existing cybersecurity professionals. Because of Fortinet's early engagement and ongoing leadership within the World Economic Forum and the company's continued commitment and efforts to shrink the cyber skills gap, Fortinet experts, including our founder and CEO Ken Xie, were invited to contribute to this initiative and were instrumental in the development of the framework.

The World Economic Forum's 2024 Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework in Focus

The Forum's Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework outlines four key areas that are interconnected components of a comprehensive cybersecurity talent-management approach.

Attracting talent into cybersecurity

As the cybersecurity talent shortage grows, it's clear that organizations must rely on more than just professionals with existing cybersecurity experience to fill open roles. According to a recent article, 95% of cybersecurity professionals believe that more could be done to attract new talent. The Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework offers guidance on attracting new talent to the profession, including prioritizing diversity and inclusion, hiring from underrepresented groups (such as women), partnering with academic institutions to attract qualified candidates, highlighting learning and career development opportunities, and developing in-house talent. 

Educating and training cybersecurity professionals

Cybersecurity training and education opportunities enable individuals with all levels of experience-even those who haven't worked in cybersecurity-to learn and advance vital skills to begin or grow a career in the cybersecurity industry. Business leaders are increasingly recognizing the value of these opportunities. According to the Fortinet 2023 Cybersecurity Skills Gap report, 82% of respondents indicate that their organization would benefit from cybersecurity certifications, and 90% say they're willing to pay for an employee to obtain a cybersecurity certification. 

Education and training play a key role in a cybersecurity career launch or growth. To attract new candidates to the field and retain existing cybersecurity professionals, the framework offers recommendations on ways that public and private organizations can deliver and support relevant and impactful training opportunities. Concepts discussed in the framework include incorporating cybersecurity education across different disciplines, embracing industry-recognized certification programs, offering unique learning opportunities through gamification or personalized experiences, and continually evaluating the effectiveness of learning programs to ensure they align with industry demands.

Recruiting the right cybersecurity talent

With nearly 4 million professionals required to fill vacant cybersecurity roles, businesses must identify innovative ways to attract new talent. Leaders must consider the cybersecurity-related skills needed today and consider how these needs will evolve alongside changing organizational demands.  

More than half (56%) of businesses struggle to recruit cybersecurity talent. Potentially contributing to that number, many regard cybersecurity as solely a technical field, resulting in missed opportunities for recruiting viable candidates. The World Economic Forum framework encourages businesses to address misperceptions and adjust their recruiting and hiring efforts accordingly. One recommended action is identifying and emphasizing non-technical skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities, that are vital to cybersecurity as opposed to focusing only on technical acumen. 

Retaining cybersecurity professionals

Fifty-four percent of leaders say they find it challenging to keep cybersecurity talent. And in today's competitive and fast-paced labor market, organizations must understand how to better retain cybersecurity practitioners. The framework offers approaches for boosting employee retention, ranging from providing individual development plans to offering employees greater visibility and recognition.

Fortinet alignment to the 2024 Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework

Fortinet's continued efforts to shrink the cyber skills gap align with the priorities outlined in the framework. We're committed to training 1 million professionals in cybersecurity by 2026 through our many Fortinet Training Institute initiatives. Fortinet offers our award-winning Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification program to prepare professionals for cybersecurity careers, and we work with a global network of Authorized Training Centers to deliver this training in local languages. Our Academic Partner Program provides education institutions and nonprofit businesses that focus on career readiness resources to facilitate our industry-recognized certification curriculum. We also work with numerous organizations, such as Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), to increase access to cybersecurity education and training opportunities among underrepresented populations and offer a specialized training and career pathway program for veterans.

Fortinet's Commitment to Cultivating the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Talent

As the threat landscape intensifies and the cybersecurity skills gap grows, every organization has a role to play in attracting new talent to the field and retaining existing cybersecurity professionals. While new technologies and automation capabilities may ease day-to-day activities for some security teams, skilled professionals will always be a vital component of every institution's risk management strategy. 

In the face of a rapidly shifting threat landscape, collaborative efforts to shrink the skills gap must be a top priority for the industry. Fortinet is committed to attracting and growing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through our Training Advancement Agenda, Fortinet Training Institute programs, and numerous public-private partnerships. The company is a founding member of the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity, a forum dedicated to enabling organizations to share and develop research and insights related to future cybersecurity risks and that forum's Partnership against Cybercrime project and Cybercrime Atlas initiative. Fortinet also plays an active role in the Forum's Cybersecurity Learning Hub, which offers career resources for learners of all levels, ranging from entry-level training to technical-oriented, higher-level courses for current professionals.

Shrinking the skills gap and ensuring that organizations have the cybersecurity talent required to protect their business must be an ongoing priority. Fortinet is proud of its contribution to the Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework and is committed to finding innovative solutions to build cybersecurity talent's pipeline worldwide.

Learn more about Fortinet's efforts to make cybersecurity training accessible to all through ourTraining Advancement Agenda.