High Schools Should Create Awareness in Cybersecurity Careers, Says Portland SEO's Augusto Beato

Augusto Beato, CEO of Portland SEO, says that public and private high schools should start capturing the interest of students cybersecurity to bridge the talent gap.

Many industry analysts agree that the underlying problem is the lack of education in cyber skills – in high schools, colleges, post grad and on the job.

"While there is an increasing collaboration between industry and academia to develop cybersecurity programs, younger candidates should be considered," said Beato. “At some point, we need to have a long-term strategy in this country about attracting young students to cybersecurity careers."

Companies needing assistance in cybersecurity can coordinate with Portland SEO through this link.

Young adults with little experience may grow as a senior person in four or five years, and older adults who have not considered cybersecurity work may also be a resource.

But the key, according to Beato, is to create awareness in K–12 that a cybersecurity career is an option.

In the US, there are currently more than 300,000 open cybersecurity jobs in the public and private sectors combined.

The shortages are worse in some parts of the country than in others, with Washington, D.C. needing 43,000 more cybersecurity workers; New York City, about 20,000; and Chicago, 11,500.

The shortage of cybersecurity talent is also worldwide.

The (ISC)² Center for Cyber Safety and Education’s 2017 Global Information Security Workforce study projects a deficit of over 1.8 million qualified cybersecurity professionals between now and 2022.