Almost 75% of the 3,758 IT managers surveyed across 14 countries by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) pinpointed security skills as being the most important element of their job at present. The White Paper produced by CompTIA, scheduled for release to its members later this year, also shows security has the greatest gap between importance and proficiency (indicating that the supply of these skills is simply not meeting demand).
Among the IT managers surveyed in nine countries (namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the US), 73% identified security, firewalls and data privacy as the IT skills most important and relevant to their organisation today. However, just 57% said their IT employees are proficient in these skills. That represents a gap of 16 percentage points.
The gap is even wider in five countries – China, India, Poland, Russia and South Africa. Among respondents in these nations, 76% identified security as the top skill their organisation needs, but just 57% stated that their current technology staff are proficient in security. That’s a discrepancy of 19 percentage points.
“The research clearly shows that IT managers appreciate the importance of security skills, but that this isn’t necessarily being represented in the abilities of their staff,” explained Matthew Poyiadgi, CompTIA’s European director. “Knowing what needs to be done is just part of the job. There must be a concerted effort to reflect this in the skills of IT professionals at the coal face. It’s all very well saying you want to lose weight, but if you don’t change your eating habits, how can you possibly expect to be slimmer?”
All participants surveyed for the report are responsible for the hiring and/or managing of at least three IT employees and employed by companies with ten or more members of staff. The survey sample comprises of a minimum of 250 IT managers from each of the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland Russia, South Africa, the UK and the US.
CompTIA is the global Trade Association for the technology industry. It has over 23,000 members in more than 25 countries.
