Security is not alone in that it finds it increasingly difficult to find talented youngsters willing to join the industry, ideally having some of the right skillset already, and retaining them after they’ve become seasoned professionals.
Even at a time when intelligence is supposed to become artificial, the security industry will continue to rely on labor. That means people willing to show up every morning at their workplaces, to design, engineer, integrate, troubleshoot and operate systems and solutions that turn security from an aspiration into reality. Changes in the way we work, and how many of us work on any one task, may be accelerating at a speed never seen before, but the “manpower issue,” which has been a sticking point for years, will continue to be with us. Whether it’ll get better or worse, however, depends on the efforts of all stakeholders involved.
Security is not alone in that it finds it increasingly difficult to find talented youngsters willing to join the industry, ideally having some of the needed skillset already, and retaining them after they’ve become seasoned professionals. The reasons behind this worrying trend include global factors and industry specific ones.
The ‘Manpower Survey’: Framing the issue and forging a path ahead
To understand the issue better and share that understanding with our readers, asmag has in March started the “
Manpower Survey.” Over 100 security professionals from 27 different countries answered our call, sharing their impressions and insights into the sides of the issue we considered most important:
Who has been affected in the past two years?
- The answers: Over 80 percent of organizations feel the pinch—47% “significantly” and 36% “occasionally.” The numbers were remarkably similar across all segments of the industry and geographies: From volume manufacturers in Asia to SME integrators in other parts of the world, and everyone else in between.
If anything, medium-sized security service providers seem to be most resilient, while the issue weighs most heavily on Western integrators. However, quantifying the issue on the granular level is difficult, as many factors are at play in any single case. Some trends are instructive, though.
What are the main issues?
- The answers: Over 75 percent of organizations agree that no or too few applicants, a skills mismatch and salary expectations are main hinderances to filling open positions. The latter two, however, are most significant, with 48% saying mismatching skills and salary expectations each are “big issues,” and only 37% and 38% respectively saying they are “small issues.”
Is the situation worsening?
- The answers: For many, yes, and in general it’s hardly improving. While the relatively largest share of respondents say the situation has basically stayed the same since the pandemic (38%), the second greatest share say it has gotten worse (35%), while only 21% see improvement. If we see the pandemic as the event that has reshuffled the cards in the job market, it seems the trends set in motion have continued or even sped up, instead of reversing in any meaningful way.
Does the “manpower issue” have operational consequences?
- The answers: Yes, as evidenced by over 75% saying the talent gap has affected the way they do business, with a larger share that see “significant” disruptions (41%) than the share that see “occasional” disruptions (36%).
Are there spillover effects from one organization to the other?
- The answer: Yes, as evidenced by over two-thirds seeing spillover effects, which shows that “manpower” is a whole-of-industry issue. At least, however, the share of those who only see “occasional” spillover effects (42%) is larger than the share who see “significant” effects, so there is hope in this regard—if the right steps are being taken going forward.
A persistent issue needs new answers
The earliest reference to something like the “manpower issue” on asmag.com is an article from 2012, in which Daniel Wan, then-UK Cannel Marketing Leader at Honeywell, writes that the convergence of security, IT departments and building management is related to a “skills gap” that must be addressed.
A clear-sighted argument at the time, Wan saw that security is no longer just about connecting CCTV cameras, but about creating integrated systems that require skills outside the narrow sphere of security. Nowadays even more, security professionals need to be up-to-date about cybersecurity, the sprawling landscape of agentic AI, professional IT systems that rely on data generated by access control terminals, for example for time attendance records, and much more.
The point made first 2012 that job requirements in security change faster than those applying for them can catch up resonates to this day. Or as one of our respondents wrote in their reply to one of the survey’s open-ended questions:
"[The] general problem is too many good people leaving the industry, too few coming in bringing the skills we need.”
- a British security service provider
One issue, many causes
This, however, is just one potential explanation for what causes the “manpower issue,”—albeit it is a convincing one that’s worth being explored in this
companion article.
Others are:
- A generational shift in expectations, or, as one respondent put it: “The young generation does not want to be on field. Easy money matters.” (An Indian integrator.)
- Increasing skills requirements, while the path into the industry remains rooted in tradition and established pathways. Or, as one respondent put it: “Vocational training and engineering degrees are too far apart, there’s nothing in between.” (A German security consultant)
- Broad economic factors that affect not just the security sector. According to survey respondents, this includes “the silver tsunami” of more people retiring than joining the workforce, “inflation pressure” virtually everywhere in the world, other sectors offering better “work-from-home packages” and competition from “the ‘real’ tech industry.”
On-the-ground effort to ameliorate the crisis
The issue is easy to see, and identifying potential reasons is also not too difficult. A harder quest, however, is developing strategies to improve the situation.
Some organizations have made strides to do so, including large-scale manufacturers and independent initiatives from within the industry. As part of our “manpower issue” project,
i-PRO,
Skills for Security,
Amthal Group Companies and
ZBeta are describing their efforts in four companion pieces.
One key element they see (and that is also reflected in the answers by our readers to the open-ended survey questions) is that organizations have to close the skills gap themselves, or in collaboration with their likeminded peers. One respondent, for example, described it like this:
“Significant challenges with talent acquisition is significantly stunting business growth. We are addressing the issue by apprentices and fast track up skilling however this takes time and requires talent to support in progressing those who are less skilled."
- a British integrator
Final thoughts: A path ahead based on mutual understanding
The survey highlights that the "manpower issue" is a deeply rooted global challenge, but it’s not insurmountable. With over 80% of the industry feeling the impact, the transition from identifying the problem to implementing localized, proactive strategies is underway, albeit strategies are unevenly implemented. Ideas, however, abound, from internal apprenticeships to deeper collaborations with technical schools.
The future of the security sector depends on its ability to bring in line the evolution of the technology and the evolution of skills within the workforce and, crucially, the skills of those willing to join the industry.
In parallel, efforts to make the industry more attractive are needed. This is certainly not an easy task, as it won’t be enough to make working in security somehow “look cool” to Gen Z talent. At the end of the day, it comes down to the wages that companies can pay and whether they look attractive to talented young people who, just as everyone else, want to make a living in a high-inflation environment and are therefore constantly considering whether more money could be made somewhere else.
It would be tragic if talented young people see a job in security only as a fallback option, or as something they consider because they don’t feel “good enough” for anything else.
Even if our survey could not come up with a silver-bullet solution, we hope it can create some more mutual understanding among stakeholders, from established firms to talented individuals.
To dig deeper,
this companion piece connects trends found in the survey results with factors seen in the broader job market, along with a broader focus on potential solutions.