Local MP, James Morris, supports

efforts to bridge the cyber skills gap.

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**Press Release**

Midland based Cyber/Information Security Consultancy and members of the Malvern

Cyber Security Cluster, Advent IM enjoyed some serious discussion of how to bridge the
cyber security skills gap with James Morris, the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis
MP.

James Morris MP (centre) with Mike Gillespie and Julia McCarron of Advent IM Ltd
Copyright Advent IM 2015

Advent IM, the UKs leading independent holistic security consultancy welcomed local
MP James Morris, to their office and training centre on 20th February. During the visit,
Mr Morris met with members of the team and the firms Directors, Julia McCarron and
Mike Gillespie and they highlighted the ongoing cyber security skills gap that the UK is
experiencing. Mr Morris acknowledged this as a topic he himself was very keen to
address with the local college and that he was keen to be a part of the solution to entry
level skill building and a career path for young people interested in starting a career in
cyber security.
Advent IM Director, Mike Gillespie has discussed the cyber skills gap before he joined
Cyber Skills Challenge CEO, Stephanie Daman in a discussion on BBC Radio4 on the
topic last year and takes every opportunity to discuss it and raise awareness of the
threat that a continuing gulf between UK security needs and the number of available
professionals forms. He said, The youngsters growing up now are using technology in
an ever increasing array of ways. The Internet of Things connects people with their
information in an unprecedented way, and the workplace and home or leisure
increasingly play in the same space. It is vital we get the upcoming generation
interested in cyber security, not only as a career path toward being a security
professional, which is what the UK plc really needs, but also because security is
becoming part of every employees life as their role in organisational security is
increasingly acknowledged. We cannot afford to allow our approach to security to
remain static; threat and risk to business is a dynamic landscape and we need to
develop our talent to deal with this landscape in the same evolved and proactive way.
Bringing young people into security via apprenticeships and helping them develop
down this route is going to form a vital part of protecting UK plc in years to come.
Advent IM is keen to explore options for bridging the skills gap in the local community
and supporting Mr Morris in the challenge of developing education and training
programs that will enable local youngsters become the cyber security experts of the
future.
Issued: 23.02.15

Ends

Ref: VIP-230215- Advent

NOTES TO EDITORS
About Advent IM
Advent IM is an independent specialist consultancy, focusing on holistic security
management solutions for information, people and physical assets, across both the
public and private sectors. Established in 2002, Advent IM is a centre of excellence for
security services, promoting the benefits of best practice guidelines and standards and
Copyright Advent IM 2015

the need to address risk management to protect against potential threats. Mike
Gillespie is MD of Advent IM, Director of Cyber Strategy and Research for The Security
Institute and a member of the CSCSS Global Cyber Security Select Committee.
From its offices in the Midlands and London, its Consultants work nationwide and are
members of the CESG Listed Advisor Scheme (CLAS), Institute of Information Security
Professionals (IISP), The Security Institute (SyI), Business Continuity Institute and
British Computer Society.
Consultants are also Lead Auditors for the International standard for information
security management (ISO 27001) and business continuity management (ISO 22301),
Practitioners of PRINCE2, a recognised project

Copyright Advent IM 2015