12.9% of the 13,033 vacancies reported to the Employment Development Agency (Adem) are in the M18 “information and telecommunication systems” category, which makes it the second most sought-after category after “accounting and management”. Of these, 337 are in the sub-category M1802, including cybersecurity experts: an increase of 49.8% over one year.
The example of AdronH is a perfect illustration of the talent shortage affecting the sector.
A junior-senior pairing model
Specialising in cybersecurity since 2017, the company has until recently concentrated on “projects in large companies”, explained one of its three partners, Bernard Fritsch. “We realised that there were small companies that had security issues or had to comply with requirements, but were not big enough to have an expert on site.” AdronH launched its service dedicated to this problem, called “Share RSSI for SME”, about six months ago.
It is a classic consulting service, with cybersecurity experts available to audit companies, find solutions and then continue to monitor their security, for an undisclosed daily fee. “The problem is that I have experts with 20 years’ experience, but with them, my day rate will not match what the client can invest.”
We prefer them to speak French. Luxembourgish, that would be a dream. I’ve never met one in IT.
So, in order to adapt to the budget of smaller companies, AdronH has opted for another model, with junior experts supervised by seniors. One of the three partners accompanies each young consultant on his or her assignments. “Despite our size, we take the time and money to train them, hoping that they learn so that they can become independent in a year or two," Fritsch said.
But finding young people specialising in cybersecurity is a problem. “There is a shortage. We don’t have a problem attracting clients, but internal resources. We are looking for people who have a general IT knowledge, knowledge of cybersecurity and soft skills.”
All the way to Tunisia
Of the eight AdronH consultants, two work for the Shared SSI for SME. A young man of 25, from Toulouse, picked up on leaving school and a Colombian woman in her thirties. A third, found in Alsace, is due to join them in January.
“We have looked all over the Greater Region. We prefer them to speak French. Luxembourgish, that would be a dream. I’ve never met one in IT.” Sometimes the firm searches farther afield. “We had a candidate who came from a university in Tunisia. The process took a year and in the end, he found a job elsewhere,” said Fritsch. “You first have to justify that you don’t have someone to meet the offer on the spot so that the person can obtain a visa and we can request an exemption from the ministry,” he explained.
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Luxembourg is nevertheless the city where cybersecurity experts earn the most, according to a by Techshielder, with an average annual salary of €110,141. However, Washington, Singapore and Berlin are ahead of the grand duchy’s capital if cost of living is considered.
Three experts wanted
A consultant can handle two to four Share RSSI for SME clients per month. “We have four and we are not looking for more. We are getting to the point where we have an offer and are stalling.” In order to develop it, AdronH needs “three more people”. For the time being, this activity does not bring in any income for the company, whose profit amounted to €88,361 in 2021, according to the Trade and Companies Register.
Other companies offer cybersecurity services for small and medium-sized enterprises in Luxembourg, such as Rsecure or JIT SNS in Belgium, which targets the self-employed and SMEs in the Benelux, just to name a few.
Read the original version of this story in French on the site.