The Government is consulting on proposals to develop the cyber security profession and ensure the UK Cyber Security Council has the powers it needs. The Government says that the cyber security profession is still in development and draws upon multiple specialisms. In the Government’s view, it has now reached a level of maturity where it needs its own identity, shape and form.

To help develop the profession, following an earlier consultation in 2018, the Government funded the creation of the UK Cyber Security Council which launched in March 2021. The Government sees this body as the authority on the cyber profession, bringing together the existing work of professional and certification organisations in this space to meaningfully communicate and assure consistency across standards and pathways.

This consultation asks for views on how best to ensure that the UK Cyber Security Council is suitably empowered to be the voice of the profession, and to tackle the scale and diversity of the skills shortage which the Government and industry want to address.

The Government’s proposals would give the Council the ability to define and recognise cyber job titles and link them to existing qualifications and certifications. People would have to meet competency standards set by the Council before they could utilise a specific job title across the range of specialisms in cyber security.

In the Government’s view, this would make it easier for employers to identify the specific cyber skills they need in their organisations and create clearer information on career pathways for young people as well as existing practitioners, without providing unnecessary barriers to entry and progression.

The proposals include the creation of a Register of Practitioners, similar to that which exists in the medical and legal professions, setting out the practitioners who are recognised as ethical, suitably qualified or senior.

The consultation closes on 20 March 2022. To access the consultation, click here.