With recent research by AustCyber forecasting a shortage of 3,000 cyber security workers in Australia by 2026, Jonathan Perumal, Country Manager, ANZ at Safeguard Global has shared his thoughts below on how Australian businesses can combat the cyber skills shortage in 2023.
“Recent AustCyber analysis forecasts a shortage of 3,000 cyber security workers in Australia by 2026. Meanwhile, the number of cyber-attacks in Australia is expected to double in the next five years. There will no doubt be a significant impact on local organisations and infrastructure if we aren’t able to solve both the short and long-term talent gap,” says Jonathan Perumal.
“Along with education and training, skilled migration will be part of the solution. However, with skilled talent visas taking up to 9 months to get processed and costing businesses around $10,000AUD in migration fees, employers need to turn to alternative methods such as building a global remote workforce.
“Sydney-based tech company Fluent Commerce recently partnered with Safeguard Global and was able to double its global footprint in the competitive skills market in less than 12 months – entering 5 new counties and onboarding 15 employees across commercial, operational, and technical fields. This was fast-tracked as a result of using our global employer of record solution to engage with in-country teams to help comply with local laws and regulations, allowing Fluent Commerce to focus on day-to-day operations.
“Businesses looking to build out their cyber teams can follow this example, hiring top talent overseas to fill operational roles remotely. With the ongoing shortage of cyber workers, it’s important to not write off expert talent in other regions just because it seems ‘too complicated’. In fact, it will be far more challenging for businesses that limit their talent pool, ultimately being left without the resources they need to maintain essential operations.”
