Cybersecurity is facing a massive talent crunch

Currently, many companies are straining to train and hire qualified staff to combat the increased frequency of cyber attacks. However, creating new entry points into the market is not the solution. According to Eman El-Sheikh, associate vice president of the University of West Florida's Center for Cybersecurity, who spoke at Cisco's "Cybersecurity Trends: Prepare For A More Secure Future" cybersecurity panel on Thursday told, higher education institutions will have to prepare workers with skills directly applicable to open roles.

According to Fran Rosch, CEO of cybersecurity firm ForgeRock, To recruit and retain talent, companies must engage in professional development, competitive compensation, and a positive work environment. "We have a supply and demand challenge," Rosch said. In other words, there simply aren't enough cybersecurity professionals to meet business needs.

According to El-Sheikh, organisations require access to professionals skilled in cyber law, behavioural analysis, and managers able to deal with the changing nature of assaults. To effectively prepare graduates, involves focusing on the important skills and credentials that employers need. El-Sheikh, further commented, "We really need from the education perspective to be looking at how we develop and offer multidisciplinary programs to address the expanding workforce needs."