Demand is real, and it is growing. The UK cyber security workforce now stands at approximately 143,000 people, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 the Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 report. That tells us teams are expanding, but not at a pace that keeps up with the duties now landing on security functions.
The pressure shows up in vacancies that stay open. A comparison drawn from the Cyber Security Skills 2024 report found that 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy the AI Labour Market Survey 2025. When resilience duties raise the bar for what a security team must cover, those gaps become a genuine operational risk, not just an HR headache.
The wider tech market sets the tone too. Against a subdued 2025 economic backdrop, businesses took a cautious approach to hiring, yet there were clear demand hotspots for specialist skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. Cyber sits firmly in the group where employers are still competing hard for talent.
Cyber resilience duties ask teams to do more than block threats. They need people who can plan for incidents, test systems, report clearly to leadership and prove compliance. That spreads demand across the discipline, and cyber security sits among the specialist skills driving the market even when overall hiring is cautious Computer Weekly's 2026 outlook.
The dynamic is a supply problem as much as a demand one. With a workforce of around 143,000 and growth at 5% in 2024 GOV.UK's 2025 labour market analysis, the pool is not deep enough for every employer to fill every role at speed. When 70% of cyber firms report at least one hard-to-fill vacancy the AI Labour Market Survey 2025, the same specialists are being chased by many teams at once.
So the question shifts. It is no longer only who can you find, but how quickly you can reach the right person before someone else does.
Start with the duty, not the job title. Map the resilience outcomes you must deliver, then define the skills behind them. That keeps your brief precise and helps you consider people who have the capability even if their past title does not match word for word, which matters when 70% of cyber firms report at least one hard-to-fill vacancy the AI Labour Market Survey 2025.
Move quickly and stay structured. In a market where specialist cyber skills are in high demand Computer Weekly's 2026 outlook, a slow process loses good people. Agree your criteria up front, keep interview stages tight, and give clear feedback fast.
Clearances and vetting add time in this sector, so plan them early rather than treating them as an afterthought. The teams that hire well are the ones that start the pipeline before the gap becomes urgent.
When specialist cyber talent is scarce and the right person is being chased by several teams, speed and reach matter. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people who match your brief, so you spend your time on the strongest few rather than the search itself.
Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. If you are building or strengthening a security team this year, start your next hire with us.
