Security sector salaries on the rise

Acumin survey reveals entry-level wage packets are on the up

On the up: Salaries for entry-level staff in the security space are rising

Salaries for IT security specialists have risen for the first time since the recession, claims IT recruitment firm Acumin Consulting.

Figures from Acumin's quarterly Information Security Recruitment Index have revealed that larger firms are now willing to pay entry-level staff up to £40,000 a year, which is 20 per cent higher than six months ago.

Meanwhile, the salaries being offered to CLAS (CESG Listed Adviser Scheme) consultants has risen by £15,000 over the last six months to £85,000 a year.

Chris Batten, managing director of Acumin Consulting, said: “In both consulting and large end-user environments, we have witnessed an undeniable increase in salaries over the past quarter.

“While employers would have historically waited to find the right person at a lower salary, they are now prepared to increase pay to hire the right people sooner.”

However, while the salaries being paid out by larger companies has risen, the same cannot be said for smaller firms.

Batten explained: “The rise in pay is not being experienced across the board and small organisations are still struggling to keep up with the pay offered by larger businesses.

“Furthermore, chief information security officers that took redundancy during the recession are often finding it difficult to identify new positions, as companies cannot yet afford to recruit at that level," he added.