(ISC) will kick off a programme pilot at a reception hosted in conjunction with ASIS at the Second Annual (ISC) Security Congress on Sept. 9, 2012. The pilot stage will begin with eight (ISC) Chapters around the world and be rolled out across the organisation in early 2013. It is specifically designed to attract more young people to the information security field, whether they are still in secondary school, recently graduated from university or new to the workforce. It is open to aspiring and active cyber security professionals age 35 and under who are looking for ways to bolster their careers and deepen their connections to the professional community.
Mentorship opportunities are also available through the programme for experienced professionals who are passionate about fostering the next generation of professionals and about being ambassadors for the information security field.
Members of the Young Professionals will gain access to services tailored for their career development needs, including mentoring, specialised education opportunities, career support and guidance, as well as networking opportunities.
(ISC) began the Young Professionals group in direct response to the widening gap between the demand for and the supply of skilled information security professionals and to the absence of an existing effective pathway for young people into the profession. According to (ISC)s 2011 Global Information Security Workforce Study, 4.2 million information security professionals will be employed by government and private industry by 2015, yet fewer than 10 percent of the existing workforce is under the age of 29. Currently, information security professionals enjoy a near full-employment market, in which job stability, high salaries and upward mobility are the norm, according to the (ISC) 2012 Career Impact Survey.
There is strong opportunity with growing recognition of our economic dependencies on a secure online business world. The United Kingdom, for example in its Cyber Security Strategy recognises that the Internet drives prosperity, accounting for 21% of the countrys GDP growth and 6% of overall GDP currently, nearly twice the average across developed economies. Getting young people on track to join the information security profession is critical to our future, says John Colley, CISSP, managing director for EMEA of (ISC). The Young Professionals group will not only help young people learn about the benefits of a career in this field, but it will also help the profession gain much better insight into the needs of the younger generation and how best to engage them.