The placement rate for cybersecurity students at Cégep de l’Outaouais is 99.9%. According to industry professionals, unemployment in the sector has been non-existent for years. However, the portrait seems to be becoming more nuanced little by little.
For the first time in years, layoffs were observed in cybersecurity, according to Nicolas Duguay, co-director general at In-Sec-M. “This will alleviate some of the urgency we felt regarding the labor shortage. »
However, he is quick to point out that companies still have great difficulty finding specialized personnel. “We’re tearing them out,” he said. Many organizations have to refuse mandates because they do not have enough employees to meet their needs. »
The urgency is still felt at the Cégep de l’Outaouais, which has offered a cybersecurity program since 2018. “When employers write to us in October to have interns at the end of the program, we generally have nothing left to offer them , says Professor Guillaume St-Georges.
Interest is also noticeable in terms of registrations. In order to fill the 75 places offered in fall 2023, the CEGEP received 162 applications. In addition to being contacted by around a hundred foreign students who were interested in cybersecurity. “We sense great enthusiasm, but we cannot accommodate more than 75 people due to lack of physical space,” says Mr. St-Georges. And as our program is limited, we do not welcome any international students. »
In his eyes, the needs of the market are still pressing. “In recent years, the Communications Security Establishment, the government organization that deals with cybersecurity in Canada, has come to the CEGEP many times to attract our students. If the largest cybersecurity organization in the country is putting this much effort into recruiting them, there is a need. »
However, not all SMEs have the same reality. “Small businesses have a lot of difficulty finding cybersecurity experts, not only because they are rare, but also because they are very well paid elsewhere,” says Mr. Duguay.
The salaries offered are often higher in organizations that have a large amount of personal data, such as governments, the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec or the Bank of Canada. “The more an organization is a potential target, the more people it needs in cybersecurity,” illustrates Guillaume St-Georges.
Another problem: many organizations falsely believe they are safe. “We have long believed that Canada and Quebec would never be attacked, but last September we saw provincial government websites being victims of cyberattacks,” recalls the cybersecurity professor at Cégep de l’Outaouais. The industry realizes late that there are needs and a shortage of labor. »
He adds that Canada is completely behind the rest of the world in this area. “We are far behind the United States, China and Russia,” he says. Our workforce does not meet international standards. »
