57% of security execs report challenges with onboarding entry-level staff

The survey also found that 70% of organizations say they have few roles available to candidates with under two years of experience, which means there’s fewer and fewer qualified entry-level candidates.

A study released September 29 by SkillBit found that cybersecurity managers are having difficulty onboarding new employees and finding cyber talent, and as a result, maintaining cyber resilience has become very challenging.

In a survey of 200 security executives, 57% reported a six-month time-to-value for a new employee, which puts a lot of pressure on security managers racing to onboard people in the wake of the compressed timeline for managing patches in the AI era.

According to the survey, 30% of leaders are receptive to “Interactive Lab” formats as a credential substitute, and another 49.5% are open to it if presented with convincing evidence of its effectiveness.

Varadarajan said the continued focus on AI, cloud, networking, risk management, administration, and analysis highlights the need for cybersecurity professionals to combine technical, operational, and business skills.

If we don't rebuild deliberate on-ramps, including apprenticeship models, AI-amplified junior roles, and academic pipelines that connect to real work, senior talent will age out faster than we can replenish it.

By replacing static resumes with interactive challenges, security executives can validate a candidate’s ability to perform in a live environment, effectively widening the candidate pipeline across security teams without lowering the skill level.

While more thorough, this training often takes a large amount of time to complete, at a time when most security teams can barely keep up.

In terms of training, 71% of security managers said they prefer 20-minute weekly upskilling sessions over annual training, yet 84% sponsor “Certification” training for their staff.

For those entering the field, it’s encouraging news: employers are investing more in training and onboarding, however, candidates still need foundational IT, cloud, networking, and AI skills to get hired and take advantage of those opportunities.” Diana Kelley, chief information security officer at Noma Security, said AI will create new cybersecurity roles, but employers are still looking for experience and proof-of-capability, even at the entry level.