On Monday, 16 September, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) published its latest research into the UK cyber security labour market. The 2024 Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market Report, its sixth consecutive annual update, provides insight into the nature and extent of cybersecurity skills gaps and shortages.
The report reveals that around 637,000 businesses in the UK, 44% of all companies, have reported skills gaps in their cybersecurity workforce. The impact of employees needing more appropriate skills results in a lack of confidence to carry out basic tasks outlined in the Cyber Essentials scheme. Combined with an underuse of external cyber security providers, this has resulted in a 48% increase in incident management skills gaps between 2020 and 2024.
Moreover, the demand for cyber security professionals has declined, with a 32% decrease in core cyber job vacancies between 2002 and 2023. Despite challenging macroeconomic factors and job cuts in the technology sector, the report indicates that the cybersecurity industry has shown more resilience compared to the broader digital sector. On a positive note, the UK has seen improvements in training new talent for the cyber security labour market, with a 34% increase in cyber security graduates.
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