Your Employees Want to Learn. How Should You Teach Them?

Cybersecurity is an industry of constant change. Organizations most prepared to face new and emerging threats are the same ones investing in the education of people who keep them safe.

It's no secret: Businesses large and small struggle to find skilled security talent. The challenge doesn't end when they land a good fit – it's notoriously difficult to keep security professionals. Opportunity abounds. On average, infosec employees receive 1.5 recruiter messages per week, according to a survey by Cybrary of more than 3,100 IT, security, and other professionals. 

"Everybody's fighting for the same people," says Cybrary co-founder and CEO Ryan Corey. The company's research shows it takes an average of 12 months to get a security pro up to speed in a new role, he adds, but the average tenure for experts in the space is only 18 months.  

If you want to beat the odds and keep your security team, invest in their career development. People in this industry want to learn and progress, Corey continues. Most of them are self-taught, taking courses at night or on the weekends. If their current organizations don't offer them the opportunity to move forward professionally, they'll move on to one that does.

"Over almost any other benefit – nobody asks about stock options or 5% bonuses – training is the first thing that comes out of people's mouths," says Robert Lee, SANS security fellow and curriculum lead for SANS DFIR, of the modern job interview process.

Here, Corey and Lee dive into the trends and challenges surrounding continuing education for cybersecurity pros. What do team members want to learn, and how do they want to learn it? Should you be sending them to conferences or trainings? And what if you educate them – only to lose them to another company? Read on to find out.