.png)
The Cybersecurity Talent Pipeline Needs More Than More Graduates
Getting people interested in cybersecurity is only the first step. They also need access to practical training, mentors and a clear path into the work.
ITSEC Asia
Cybersecurity has no shortage of reasons to attract new talent. There are technical roles, policy roles, incident response, digital forensics, security engineering, governance and an expanding set of jobs around AI.
Yet access to those paths isn’t evenly distributed.
ITU’s Her CyberTracks programme puts a specific number against the problem: women accounted for 22% of the global cybersecurity workforce in 2025. ITU also identifies unequal access to training, a lack of strong female role models and limited awareness of cybersecurity career options among barriers to greater participation. ITU
The programme’s fourth edition, running from May to October 2026, is designed around that gap. It combines technical and policy training with mentorship, networking and practical exercises. Its Asia-Pacific regional training is scheduled for 12–16 October in Bangkok. ITU
The useful lesson for workforce planning is simple: talent development needs an ecosystem around the learner.
Training Gets People Started. Mentorship Helps Them Stay.
A cybersecurity course can teach someone how incident response works. It can’t automatically show them what a career in incident response looks like six months later.
That’s where mentorship matters.
ITU’s Her CyberTracks model includes senior professional mentoring alongside technical education and practical exercises. The 2026 Incident Response CyberTrack, for example, includes cyber drill preparation, incident response, digital forensics, threat intelligence and communication skills, with participants assessed through simulations and group exercises. ITU Academy
That combination addresses several workforce problems at once:
- Learners gain technical skills they can practise
- Mentors provide context about how those skills are used at work
- Participants see different career routes rather than one stereotypical “cyber job”
- Peer networks can make it easier to ask questions and find opportunities
- Practical exercises provide evidence of capability beyond a certificate
The last point matters. A CV can say someone studied incident response. A realistic exercise can show how they behave when the evidence is incomplete and the clock is running.
Diversity Also Changes the Talent Pool
A workforce strategy that draws from a narrow section of the population will eventually run into a narrow talent pool.
ITU’s approach treats participation and capability together. Its programme covers technical subjects as well as communication, leadership, policy and networking. The Cyber & AI track also includes AI fundamentals, AI threats, governance, cyber readiness and scenario planning. ITU Academy
That broader model reflects how cybersecurity work is actually done. Security teams need people who can analyse systems, communicate risk, coordinate during incidents and make decisions under pressure.
Different backgrounds don’t automatically produce better security decisions. But a field that gives fewer people access to training and professional networks gives itself fewer chances to find exceptional practitioners.
Make the Path Visible
For educators and employers, the practical question is how to turn interest into progression.
A useful pathway can connect:
- Exposure: introduce students and career changers to real cybersecurity roles.
- Practice: provide labs, simulations and technical projects.
- Mentorship: connect learners with people already doing the work.
- Experience: create internships, apprenticeships or supervised assignments.
- Progression: map the next skills and responsibilities clearly.
That approach fits the model at ITSEC Cyber & AI Academy, which combines skills assessment, structured learning and practical cyber range environments across cybersecurity and AI. The goal is to help learners see where they are, practise the work and understand what comes next. ITSEC Academy
The cybersecurity workforce doesn’t grow simply because more people hear about cybersecurity.
It grows when more people can see a path into it and have a realistic opportunity to walk that path.
Explore practical cybersecurity and AI training at ITSEC Cyber & AI Academy.
References
- International Telecommunication Union, “Her CyberTracks,” updated 2026
- ITU Academy, “Her CyberTracks – Incident Response CyberTrack 2026,” 11 May–31 October 2026
- ITU, “Her CyberTracks Regional Asia-Pacific Training,” 12–16 October 2026
- ITU Academy, “Her CyberTracks – Cyber and AI CyberTrack 2026,” 11 May–31 October 2026
- ITSEC Cyber & AI Academy, “ITSEC Cyber & AI Academy,” accessed October 2026
