By Center for Cyber Safety and Education

The cybersecurity industry is expected to grow by $160 billion over the next four years; as a result, cybersecurity professionals are in high demand.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), cybersecurity jobs are projected to grow by 27 percent between 2014 and 2024, increasing from 209,000 to 257,700 job openings. This growth is happening not only because of cybersecurity breaches from hackers and malicious actors but also because of businesses' need for more trained professionals to protect their data.

Why is There a Shortage of Cybersecurity Professionals?

Amid a global pandemic and political unrest, cybercriminals have taken advantage and applied emerging technologies and sophisticated techniques to carry out an alarming number of attacks worldwide. By 2025, experts project that cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually.

As a result, businesses and even governments are scrambling to reinforce their cybersecurity-but they lack the talent to respond adequately.

With cybersecurity becoming increasingly important to business, infrastructure and society, there's a huge demand for cybersecurity professionals: There are approximately 3 million cybersecurity positions worldwide. Unfortunately, there are not enough people graduating with the skill sets needed to meet this demand, so only about one-third of those jobs are filled.

How Your Company Can Help

More responsibility is needed by both employers and educators alike to teach future generations about cybersecurity early on with classes at schools and colleges worldwide. We're doing our part by starting them out young, helping them understanding cyber threats and how they can keep themselves safe through online safety education, but there's more to be done! Your company could sponsor such education at schools in your community.

It's important to be proactive in promoting STEM education, which includes cybersecurity as well as IT careers in general. The next step would be having technical education programs within high schools, community colleges and universities that demonstrate how tech can also serve society's interest over profit margins.

Your company can also help solve the shortage of cybersecurity professionals by training from within and integrating the value of cyber education into your company culture. Business and community leaders need to focus on cybersecurity readiness now more than ever. If you're struggling to fill a cybersecurity position in your organization, you can support continuous learning by enrolling team members in security certification training programs.

At the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, we aim to help businesses bridge the gap by providing future information security professionals with scholarships to prepare them for a rewarding career in this important field. You company could donate to our scholarship fund or establish a named scholarship of your own to fulfill your own corporate responsibility goals now and help recruit potential employees.

Learn more about how your company can impact and inspire tomorrow's cybersecurity professionals.