Demand is real and the talent pool is tight. There are approximately 143,000 individuals in the UK cyber security workforce, and growth has moved from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. That pace is heading the right way, but it is slow against the number of roles teams want to fill today.
The pressure shows up when teams try to hire. A comparison with the Cyber Security Skills 2024 report found 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk. For defence and security employers, those hard-to-fill roles often sit right at the DevSecOps intersection, where security, software and operations meet.
The mix teams describe is broader than a single job title. They want people who write and review secure code, automate security checks inside CI/CD pipelines, and spot risk before it ships. Cloud fluency across the main platforms matters, along with infrastructure as code, container and Kubernetes security, and a working grasp of threat modelling.
The reason these roles stay open is the overlap. A strong DevSecOps hire is part developer, part security specialist and part operations engineer. With 70% of cyber firms reporting at least one hard-to-fill vacancy AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk, the people who hold all three skill sets get snapped up quickly.
Start by writing the job around the work, not the wish list. List the two or three skills the role genuinely needs on day one, then mark the rest as useful extras. Against a workforce of roughly 143,000 cyber professionals Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK, an overloaded spec narrows your shortlist before anyone applies.
Be clear and early about clearance. If a role needs clearance, say which level and whether you will sponsor it, because that single detail decides who can apply. Test for real skills with a short, practical exercise rather than a long interview loop, and move quickly once someone is a fit. In a market where strong people hold several offers, speed is often what wins the hire.
We search a database of 15 million candidates to build a ranked shortlist for your DevSecOps role, so you spend your time on interviews rather than sifting. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai about your next security role and we will start building your shortlist today.
