IT Security Skills in High Demand, Short Supply, CompTIA Survey Reveals

Business Wire, Feb 27, 2008

Worldwide survey of 3,500 organizations

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. -- There is a wide gap between the information technology (IT) security skills that organizations want and the corresponding skills that workers bring to the job, according to a new survey commissioned by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

Security tops the list of the technology skills that are most important to organizations today, according to the survey of more than 3,500 technology professionals in North America, Europe and Asia. But there is a significant gap in the security skills available among today's tech workforce, the survey reveals.

Among organizations surveyed in nine countries with established IT industries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), 73 percent identified security, firewalls and data privacy as the IT skills most important to their organization today. But just 57 percent said their IT employees are proficient in these security skills, a gap of 16 percentage points.

The gap is even wider in five countries where the emergence of a strong IT industry is relatively recent (China, India, Poland, Russia, and South Africa). Among respondents in these countries, 76 percent identified security as the top skill their organization needs; but just 57 percent said their current tech staff is proficient in security. That's a difference of 19 percentage points.

CompTIA commissioned The Center for Strategy Research, Inc. (http://www.csr-bos.com/index.htm), a Boston-based market research firm, to conduct the survey among organizations worldwide to identify gaps in IT skills and possible solutions to close those gaps. The telephone and online survey was conducted during the fourth quarter of 2007. For more information on the study, visit http://www.comptia.org/sections/research/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the voice of the world's $3 trillion information technology industry. CompTIA membership extends into more than 100 countries and includes companies at the forefront of innovation; the channel partners and solution providers they rely on to bring their products to market; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their technology investments. For more information, visit www.comptia.org.