French cybersecurity companies are struggling to recruit and retain staff. The solution: get rid of the geek image and urgently expand cybersecurity recruitment profiles.
A new threat is hitting the cyber security industry. It's not a virus or a computer security flaw, let alone a ransomware: it's the "ghosting"! This practice born with the development of dating sites, where one of the partners stands up a rabbit, develops at high speed V in the medium of cybersecurity. The victims are not individuals looking for a soul mate, but employers in desperate search of computer security experts. "Candidates do not show up at their appointments. Even when they signed a contract, because in the meantime they found better elsewhere," notes Servanne Morin, head of partnerships for LesJeudis, one of the main sites of skilled jobs in the digital trades.
The shortage of cybersecurity skills is widespread. A large French CAC 40 group based in the Paris region had to persevere for ten months to recruit its industrial cybersecurity expert, despite a good salary. "None of the ten selected candidates showed up for the interview," its director of cybersecurity explains in displeasure. Even the National Agency for the security of information Systems (Anssi) runs after these rare gems. In order to increase its staff by about 40 posts a year, it has to recruit three times as many, as turn-over requires ! "Young people know that a visit to the ANSI counts on a business card. They know that they will find missions that are not carried out elsewhere and will be able to fight against threats on which few people are called upon to intervene," said Human Resources Division Chief Julie Ledoux.
