| Information Security |
Jun 2007 |
Dec 2007 |
Jun 2008 |
Dec 2008 |
Jun 2009 |
Dec 2009 |
| New vacancies |
63 |
65 |
58 |
50 |
25 |
35 |
| Closing vacancies |
31 |
29 |
33 |
20 |
12 |
15 |
| Candidates registering |
179 |
195 |
240 |
230 |
280 |
289 |
| Defensive registrations |
15% |
15% |
17% |
20% |
53% |
36% |
| Overall salary increase |
16% |
14% |
13% |
4% |
4% |
6% |
The information security recruitment market was the area of corporate governance worst hit by the recession. IT spending is always a victim of economic downturns and in an environment where business investment had been cut by 25%, information security was always likely to fare badly. The recruitment market recovered during the course of the second half of 2009 and unemployment in IT security is now falling. The recovery is being driven by the financial sector where restructuring has left skill gaps that need to be addressed. Within the consultancy sector those relying on public sector work benefited from the continuing largesse of the government. In the last quarter of 2009 niche consultancies, having been absent from the recruitment market for many months, recruited information security specialists with specific skills. These skills included penetration testers, CLAS consultants and SAP security specialists. Although some vacancies were the result of increased demand for their services, many were sufficiently specialist that the consultancies concerned had little prospect of filling them internally. We anticipate that this is a harbinger for the demand for more generalist security staff in 2010.#
Vacancies
The number of vacancies that were registered in the second half of 2009 increased from 25 in the first half to 35 in the second half. Whilst this is obviously a positive development, vacancy generation was only half that in the comparable period two years ago. Closing vacancies were 15, only marginally up on the 12 in June 2009.
However this low number can at least be partially attributed to the speed with which vacancies are being filled. Managers with vacancies have often been subject to extended authorisation processes. They are therefore highly motivated to fill vacancies both through need and because of the increased confidence that having found the right candidate, the vacancy will not be put on hold. In this they have often been helped by the availability of appropriate candidates. The choice and availability of information security specialists in the recruitment market has often been higher than in other areas of corporate governance. During the final six months of 2009, in spite of the number of defensive registrations falling, the flow of information security specialists into the recruitment market increased.
Candidate Registrations
The information security market was hard hit by redundancies and the number of defensive registrations in information security has been higher than in other areas of governance. Whilst still high, redundancies and defensive registrations fell steeply during the final quarter of 2009 and we anticipate this trend should continue. The flow of candidates into the recruitment market is still restricted by concerns about potential job security. This should improve as 2010 develops.
Salaries
The average salary increase achieved by information security specialists changing jobs was 6% during the final six months of 2009, an improvement on the 4% achieved during the previous 12 months. Whilst the number of vacancies is starting to rise, most information security specialists remain in a weak bargaining position when it comes to negotiating a starting salary. There are still redundant information security practitioners including people who are normally contractors who would currently accept a permanent position. |
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