Why You Should Upskill Employees in Your Network Security Team

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be a shortfall of 3.5 million cybersecurity specialists by 2025. With these talent shortages and skills gaps affecting the tech world, including the network security space, organizations, business leaders, and IT experts are seeking ways to overcome these hiring challenges. One solution is to upskill employees within network security teams. But what is upskilling, and why is it important? 

We’ll answer these key questions and provide insight into what to avoid when upskilling your network security staff. So, by the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly why you should upskill employees in your network security team.

In this guide, we’ll explore the following:

• What is upskilling in network security?
• Why is upskilling important for your network security team?
• What to avoid when upskilling your network security staff

What is upskilling in network security?

Upskilling employees in network security is a concept focused on developing strategies to improve the ability of a network security team. It's a way to help close the IT skills gap in a market where talent is hard to find. For further context around 'What is upskilling?', it involves establishing and implementing training resources, either internally or externally, to enhance the credentials of professionals from entry to senior-level talent.

The term upskilling is more than an overlooked buzzword; instead, it should be regarded as a comprehensive approach focused on how to upskill employees and improve the capabilities of an existing IT security team. Through continuous learning programs and other means of training, businesses can equip their network security team with the expertise required to bolster professional and organizational growth.

Upskilling employees within your network security team can improve your talent's ability to carry out the responsibilities below:

• Identifying and preventing potential network security threats to safeguard your company's systems and sensitive data
• Planning and implementing strategies to respond to and combat IT security incidents to minimize their impact
• Designing effective security protocols to safeguard your IT networks, systems, and applications
• Conducting frequent audits to ensure compliance is met with industry regulations and internal security policies
• Educating and upskilling employees on how to align with IT security while fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness within the company 

Additionally, upskilling your team in IT security can enhance your network security staff’s technical and soft skills:

Technical Network Security Skills

Upskilling your network security staff can help improve technical IT security skills. Here are the primary examples of the technical network security skills that can be developed with the support of upskilling:

• Ability to configure and maintain secure network IT infrastructures
• Penetration testing skills with an ability to conduct ethical hacking to detect vulnerabilities in your IT systems
• Ability to effectively utilize security tools such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus software
• Knowledge of encryption to protect sensitive data
• Improves your network security team's ability to combat security incidents seamlessly

Soft Network Security Skills

Upskilling employees can also improve the following soft cybersecurity skills. Below are the key examples of network security soft skills that can be enhanced through upskilling:

• Improves their communication skills
• Enhances problem-solving skills to combat cybersecurity threats
• Adaptability skills to stay ahead of the latest IT security threats
• Continuous learning skills with a passion for staying updated with the latest cybersecurity trends

When looking at how to upskill employees in your network security team, consider it an opportunity to empower your talent to adapt to evolving cyber threats, advancing their careers with expertise that boosts their individual performance while helping to improve your company's cybersecurity posture. 

Why is upskilling important for your network security team?

Now that you understand what upskilling is, you may be wondering why it's essential. In this section, we'll outline the benefits of upskilling employees in your network security team to highlight its importance. We’ll outline how it supports you in bridging the skills gap in your business, being a cost-effective solution to talent development, supporting employee retention, and more.

• Adaptation to evolving cyber threats: Just like technology constantly evolves, so does the world of cybersecurity. Therefore, one of the benefits of upskilling employees is that it provides an opportunity for your network security team to access knowledge of the latest tools and techniques to adapt to emerging cyber threats and more sophisticated attacks.
• Bridging skill gaps and talent shortages: Network security jobs, skills, and requirements are constantly changing, making it challenging to access the competitive market by sourcing a finite pool of candidates. As a result, you must look to upskill talent in your existing workforce to overcome the skills gap in your IT security team.
• Gives your cybersecurity team the competitive edge: Remaining ahead of your competition is essential in the network security industry, and upskilling your team can help give you a competitive advantage by equipping your professionals with the sought-after skills your competitors wish they had to address emerging challenges and technologies.
• Cost-effective talent development: Network recruitment services are essential to helping you find the niche resources to build your workforce. However, if you've already utilized your hiring budget and are going through a hiring freeze, you could look at solutions for how to upskill employees in your team. Rather than stretching your finances, consider upskilling your existing talent as a cost-effective way to develop your network security staff.
• Improves employee satisfaction: Network security professionals always seek opportunities from their employers to expand their skill sets. Upskilling employees within your team showcases your commitment to the growth of your talent, which can improve their job satisfaction. By investing in resources to upskill talent, your network security team will be equipped with enhanced skills and motivation to deliver valued work with improved productivity levels.
• Boosts employee retention: Following our previous point, another of the benefits of upskilling employees in your network security team is that it can support your talent retention efforts. Investing in upskilling will result in reciprocated investment in your business by your network security staff - boosting your employee retention and reducing your employee turnover rate.
• Builds a culture of continuous learning: Upskilling employees within your network security team can create a culture of constant learning within your business. This learning culture can help your experts stay ahead of emerging cyber threats while promoting a workplace of knowledge-sharing and innovation.
• Enhances your company's reputation: Another of the main benefits of upskilling within your network security team is that it can improve your organization's reputation. Your enhanced reputation of promoting internal upskilling as an employer exemplifies your company as one that prioritizes employee development. As mentioned, this perception can help retain your talent while attracting future candidates who value upskilling opportunities.

What to avoid when upskilling your network security staff

When looking to reap the benefits of upskilling employees in your network security team, it’s vital to avoid certain approaches. Falling into potential pitfalls can be counter-intuitive to your upskilling goals, resulting in a waste of time and money while failing to positively impact the development of your permanent and contract hires.

In this section, we’ll highlight the key approaches you should avoid. Avoiding these drawbacks can put you in a positive position to develop a strategy to upskill your network security staff. 

• Not applying new-found skills to the workplace and daily responsibilities of your network security team
• Inaccurately identifying skills gaps within your network security team
• Overlooking career path planning and professional development
• Failing to offer upskilling opportunities that your talent request 
• Not adapting to virtual training to support remote workers 
• Relying on dated training approaches
• Not tracking the effectiveness of upskill-focused training 
• Neglecting diverse training methods
• Failing to facilitate continuous learning
• Applying a one-size-fits-all approach that isn’t tailored to various learning preferences

So, now that you know what not to do regarding upskilling your team, you may be wondering what approaches you can take to develop your strategy to upskill talent effectively. Thankfully, we’ve got a guide on this. Learn more about upskilling by reading our insight on How to Upskill Employees in Your Cybersecurity Team.

The final word on upskilling your network security staff

In summary, upskilling your network security team is not just an investment in skill development; it's a strategic approach to help your business stay ahead in today's tech space. By prioritizing continuous learning and providing targeted training, you can equip your network security team with the expertise needed to safeguard critical systems and data effectively. 

However, to maximize the impact of your strategy to upskill employees in your network security team, it’s crucial to avoid common pitfalls like neglecting skill application, overlooking career development, or relying on outdated training methods. By adopting a holistic and adaptive approach, you can establish and develop a culture of innovation, retention, and resilience, ultimately enhancing both individual performance and organizational cybersecurity posture.

If you’re looking for additional support to help you close the skills gaps and talent shortages within your organization, we’ve got the perfect guide for you. Discover valuable insight by reading our guide on How IT Recruitment Agencies Can Benefit Your Business. Alternatively, scroll below to find out how we can assist you.

Specialists in network recruitment solutions

Now that you know why you should upskill employees in your business, you may be looking for solutions to help bolster your network security team. If so, we can help. With support from our specialist network recruitment consultants, we can connect you with the market’s best professionals and help fill your network security jobs.

Contact us today to discuss your network recruitment needs and learn what it means to partner with us.