While companies in the security arena are planning to add
to their staffs, they are increasingly finding it difficult
to locate qualified professionals to fill open positions.
The growing concern over candidate shortages in the
security industry mirrors the same concern within other
industries.
A recent survey of nearly 500 U.S. companies, conducted by MRINetwork, revealed that 49.6 percent of all respondents anticipate difficulty in finding the qualified candidates they need to hire. Another 16.7 percent expect that they, too, will find it difficult to locate qualified help. Only 26.2 percent say they do not anticipate problems ahead.
If candidates cannot be found within companies already directly involved in the security industry, executives whose responsibility it is to hire new individuals will have to explore other avenues to find the people they need.
In order to compensate for the lack of candidates, Noel Glacer, vice president security industry with the search firm AnswerQuest, began to cultivate other personnel sources. He has found excellent candidates in the telecom industry whose understanding of connectivity make them able to make the transition from telecommunication to security.
Glacer claims that a company must be willing to invest in training new recruits so they can transfer their skills. He claims that it’s worth the time and money because it’s better to have an ‘A’ player with transferable skills from an allied industry than one from within the industry who has less potential.
