Four years after a poorly timed advertisement from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) urging individuals to consider retraining for careers in cyber security, the sector is now recognized as the fastest-growing technology field in the UK. According to a new report by security consultancy Socura titled “Their Next Job Was in Cyber,” the number of professionals in security roles has more than doubled in the past three years.
The controversial ad featured a young ballet dancer and included the tagline, “Fatima’s next job could be in cyber. She just doesn’t know it yet.” It faced significant backlash in 2020, criticized as insensitive by then Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, especially as the UK’s cultural sector struggled to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Socura’s analysis of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual population survey data revealed that the number of cyber security professionals in the UK increased from 28,500 in December 2021 to 65,000 by March 2024. However, this overall growth hides a significant shortage of skilled security professionals, and a deeper look at the data shows that diversity in the cyber workforce is declining, with the proportion of women decreasing from 23.8% in December 2021 to 17.5% in March 2024.
Despite the growth in cyber security roles, they remain scarce compared to other IT professions. There are approximately 560,000 programmers and software developers, around 240,000 IT managers, and about 195,000 IT business analysts, architects, and system designers.
Andy Kays, CEO of Socura, emphasized the insufficient number of security workers to meet the growing threats faced by UK organizations, noting that there is only one security professional for every 86 companies. He stated, “While cyber security may be the fastest-growing IT occupation in the UK, the ongoing skills shortage is a major concern. Many businesses lack the specialists needed to defend against cyber threats.”
Kays called for national initiatives such as the NCSC-backed Academic Centres of Excellence and efforts to engage younger individuals with technology in schools. He also highlighted the importance of organizations partnering with trusted managed services providers to strengthen their cyber capabilities.
Kathryn Jones, head of Cardiff University’s Computer Science and Informatics School, pointed out that attracting more workers, especially women, into the cyber security field is a critical challenge. She noted that the gender imbalance seen in the industry is reflective of broader issues within the tech sector, where female enrollment in computer science and software engineering programs is typically low.
Jones remarked, “Cyber security offers an exciting and diverse range of career opportunities, but we need more initiatives like the NCSC’s Cyber First Girls competition to raise awareness and interest in the field.”
In contrast to the broader IT profession, which is predominantly located in London and the Southeast, the cyber security sector shows a more even distribution across the UK, as per Socura’s findings. There are approximately 14,000 cyber professionals in Northwest England compared to just over 20,000 in London and the Southeast. This growth in the Northwest is likely due to the emergence of regional accelerators and security hubs, particularly around Greater Manchester.
However, areas such as Northeast England, the Midlands, Northern Ireland, and Wales show much slower growth in cyber professionals, with Wales adding just under 500 security jobs during the study period and Northern Ireland experiencing a net loss, despite hosting the prominent Centre for Secure Information Technologies at Queen’s University Belfast.