Security now one of the UK's fastest-growing career paths | Computer Weekly

"having almost trebled since 2021 to 83,700, according to an analysis of more than 400 occupations tracked by the Office for National Statistics. The analysis was conducted by managed security services provider Socura, which claimed this means there are now more cyber professionals than there are architects, bricklayers, farm workers, armed forces officers and vets - and there is now one cyber security pro for every 68 businesses in the country, up from one per 196 just five years ago."

"the figures demonstrated that security is far from a niche industry, and has instead become a cornerstone of the British economy. "AI may be changing the landscape, but skilled professionals are still the front line of our national defence," said Kays. "For the UK to remain a global leader in online safety, we must ensure that we continue to develop talent with the skills needed to keep pace with modern threats and that a career in cyber is accessible to everyone.""

"Yulia Cherdantseva, a reader at Cardiff University's School of Computer Science & Informatics and director of its Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security, said that in spite of the "extraordinary growth", there was still a lot more to be done to address persistent skills gaps in the security profession. She pointed to a need to better align academia, certification bodies and the industry itself, on areas such as training and qualifications, standardised language in job descriptions and pathways that support global mobility."

Cyber security has become the UK's fifth fastest-growing profession, with employment rising almost threefold since 2021 to 83,700. Socura's analysis counts more cyber professionals than architects, bricklayers, farm workers, armed forces officers and vets, and reports one cyber professional per 68 businesses, up from one per 196 five years earlier. Socura's CEO emphasized that AI changes the landscape but skilled professionals remain the front line, and urged development of accessible career pathways and talent. An academic expert warned of persistent skills gaps and called for alignment among academia, certification bodies and industry, standardized job language, training pathways and frameworks such as CyBOK.

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