CompTIA Plug #Skills Gap by Springboarding Cybersecurity Careers

CompTIA has today (13 Aug) announced that more than 500,000 individuals have now earned a Security+ credential, providing thousands of people with a springboard to a career dedicated to cybersecurity.

At a time where three in five senior business leaders report that the skill shortage has worsened over the last year, despite the demand for IT workers increasing year-on-year, it has become vital for organisations to upskill employees as a key growth strategy.

Cybersecurity related jobs are also demanded from a broad range of organisations, from professional services to health care. CompTIA’s Security+ certification is recognised by employers and technology professionals as a certification that validates the hands-on skills needed to perform core cybersecurity functions, supporting an end to the technology skills gap.

CompTIA Security+ Surpasses 500,000 Certified Milestone Certification validates core cybersecurity skills

CompTIA, the leading provider of vendor-neutral skills certification for the global technology workforce, said today more than 500,000 individuals have earned its CompTIA Security+ credential.

CompTIA Security+ is recognised by employers and trusted by technology professionals as a certification that validates the hands-on skills needed to perform core cybersecurity functions and problem solve on a wide variety of issues. It also serves as a springboard to a career dedicated to cybersecurity for many tech pros.

“You need look no further than the daily headlines about cyber-attacks and data breaches to understand the criticality for organisations to have robust cyber defences in place,” said John McGlinchey, executive vice president for global certification at CompTIA.

“These defences begin with having a team of technology professionals trained and certified in the latest cybersecurity countermeasures; and that training and certification starts with CompTIA Security+,” McGlinchey continued.

Organisations across a spectrum of industries – professional services, finance, health care, information technology, telecommunications, government, and the United States military – rely on CompTIA Security+ as a skills benchmark for their cybersecurity staffs.

CompTIA Security+ emphasizes hands-on practical skills in areas such as risk management, risk mitigation, threat management, intrusion detection, and other critical knowledge domains.

The certification is unique in its reliance on performance-based exam questions. Test-takers are challenged to demonstrate in real time that they can identify and mitigate the same types of security threats, attacks and vulnerabilities they’ll face on the job.

CompTIA Security+ is compliant with ISO 17024 standards and approved by the U.S. Department of Defence to meet its directive 8140/8570.01-M requirements. No other cybersecurity certification is selected as frequently as CompTIA Security+ to satisfy the requirement, with as many as 80 percent of individuals choosing the CompTIA credential.

Demand for Cybersecurity Professionals

More than 715,000 workers were employed in cybersecurity-related jobs in the United States in 2017, according to CyberSeek™, a resource that provides detailed, actionable data about supply and demand in the nation’s cybersecurity job market.

Yet U.S. employers posted online job listings for more than 310,000 cybersecurity-related positions between September 2017 and August 2018. Many of these job openings included requirements or strong recommendations that candidates be certified, including in CompTIA Security+.

Also, the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics predicts that the number of information security jobs will increase 28 percent from 2016 to 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing fields.