Accenture has unveiled plans to create 3000 new tech roles in the UK over the next three years. Many of these will be related to information security, with the consulting firm confirming that the new jobs are being driven by increased demand for services in platforms, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, data and intelligent operations.
It is hoped that Accenture’s announcement will encourage more people to enter the cybersecurity sector and help close the cyber skills gap, which has risen by more than a third in the past 12 months in the UK, according to a recent study. Commenting on the news, John Fokker, head of cyber investigations for McAfee Enterprise's Advanced Threat Research team, said: “It’s promising to see Accenture’s initiative to create thousands of new cybersecurity roles over the next three years. Not only will this help to raise awareness of the skills needed to succeed in a cybersecurity role, it will also help the industry take a step towards closing the cybersecurity skills gap. This will be particularly important in bolstering security teams when things get busy, with our research telling us that 75% of organizations struggle to maintain a fully staffed security team during peak periods.
“As well as creating new jobs, we can strive to close the skills gap by encouraging those interested in IT or cybersecurity as early as possible and provide a school pathway into the industry."
The new positions will add to Accenture’s current UK workforce, which stands at around 11,000 people. Encouragingly for the UK government’s ‘leveling up’ agenda, half of these roles will be based outside of London, in Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng commented: “Today’s announcement is a huge vote of confidence in UK plc and shows that, backed up by a skilled workforce, the UK remains one of the best locations to expand and grow a business. This expansion by Accenture is a great example of the kind of digitally focused, high-skilled jobs that will help level up economic growth across the whole of the UK and help us build back better.”
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries added: “It's fantastic to see Accenture creating thousands of new high-skilled jobs in a number of our regional tech hubs. This investment is testament to the UK's global reputation for innovation and talent. We're determined to level up opportunity across the country and are investing in people's digital skills and digital infrastructure so businesses can thrive."
The announcement has followed a number of recent acquisitions by Accenture that have added to its cybersecurity portfolio. These include Symantec's Cyber Security Services business and Context Information Security in 2020 and Sentor in June 2021.