Last March when we all first went into lockdown, I committed SASIG to daily online webinars – “Don’t worry, this’ll all be over in a couple of months!”, I said to my aghast team. Well, the rest as they say is history! We’ve now had 17,500 visits by 3,700 professionals to the 280 lockdown webinars – and still counting, we’re not going anywhere. Moreover, nearly 600 SASIG members attended the Big SASIG virtual conference last month to huge acclaim, it was a roaring success. But none of this could have been achieved without the help and involvement of so many – our speakers, our Supporters, my very understanding SASIG team, and of course our wonderful, wonderful community. I am so proud of all that we’ve achieved together, and how much stronger the SASIG community has become during such difficult times.
Next Tuesday (13 April 2021) we have our Cybersecurity Skills Festival – SASIG’s own contribution to addressing the critical skills shortage our industry faces. 25 speakers will discuss the challenges and solutions. 20 leading organisations from both the public and private sectors are offering 200+ jobs across 90 unique roles. Fresh talent from universities, the military, law enforcement, youth movements and many other sources will be able to learn about the careers and opportunities that our exciting and dynamic profession offers.
Already, nearly 300 participants have committed to attending. Please, I ask you from the heart, show your support too. Register now. Encourage others in your teams and networks to come along. This is everyone’s opportunity to tackle the greatest strategic challenge our industry faces. We cannot continue simply to eat our own resource. Now is the time to create the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
This will be the first in a regular series of these Festivals – watch out for the next one in November. I want us all to start a movement here, where everyone is working together to attract new talent to our exciting and vibrant profession. The answers lie in our own hands. We look forward to seeing you there.
My warmest regards as ever to you all
Martin
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Thank you for reading my blogs. I’m getting quite old now, and hopefully I’m a little wiser than I once was. I have enjoyed a fascinating career full of fascinating people, and made many great friendships. I’ve made huge errors in my lifetime, and enjoyed great success too – it’s been the ultimate game of snakes and ladders - up and down, round and round. It is my privilege to share some of my stories with you, and describe some of the lessons I’ve learned in the hope that it may both save you from falling into the same holes, and help you in your careers and lives. Good luck and good fortune.
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