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69% OF COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA BELIEVE AI WILL IMPACT CYBER SECURITY HEADCOUNTS IN NEXT 5 YEARS

AI training for workforce set to intensify rapidly in the next two years.

Malaysia, 01 April 2024 – Hays, the global leader in workforce solutions and specialist recruitment recently released the Hays Global Cyber Security Report 2024 which was completed in late 2023 and features insights from over 1,000 cyber security leaders, from across 47 countries. The report explores how cyber security leaders are currently approaching recruitment and retention strategies for qualified cyber security staff, as well as the anticipated impact of AI, and their organisations investment plans.

Among respondents in Malaysia, 69% expressed the belief that AI will impact headcount in the next 5 years, higher than the global average of 56%. In a separate poll conducted across 6 weeks in late 2023, 39% of employees in Malaysia expressed concerns that their company was not embracing AI sufficiently to stay relevant. This corresponds to the recent poll where only 20% of companies were training their workforce on AI tools, compared to 32% of companies globally. This is slated to accelerate significantly in the next two years as 50% of companies are exploring plans to train their staff within this period.

Additionally, Malaysia reported a greater focus on upskilling, with 48% of cyber security professionals locally reporting over 6% of budgets being dedicated to talent development compared to 26% globally. 54% of professionals also expect their budgets to increase in 2024, higher than the global average of 40%. Despite this, 92% of local respondents were more than slightly concerned that these increases would be insufficient.

Natasha Ishak, Regional Director at Hays Malaysia, commented on the report, “Cyber security professionals worldwide are bracing for the impact AI will have on their abilities to safeguard data and infrastructure. These tools benefit both organisations and criminals equally, and how teams can adapt to evolving attacks will depend on whether their talent has been upskilled sufficiently. Leaders must exercise prudence in deciding where to invest critical funds to keep cyber teams updated with the latest threats.”

“While current progress appears gradual, leaders appear willing to invest in the necessary training to bring cyber security teams up to speed in AI tools and against the latest threats,” said Natasha. “Professionals may wish to leverage this knowledge and table any opportunities for upskilling with their companies.”

The Hays Global Cyber Security Report 2024 can be downloaded here.

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Contact

For more information contact:
Hays Malaysia Marketing Team
E: marketing@hays.com.my

About Hays Malaysia

Agensi Pekerjaan Hays (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd ("Hays Malaysia") is one of the leading specialist recruitment companies in Malaysia in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. We provide mid to senior level recruitment services across both finance and commerce industries. We have become known as the experts in sourcing regional and global candidates, as well as returning Malaysians.

Hays has been in Malaysia since 2012 and boasts a track record of success and growth, with two
operating offices located in KLCC and Sunway. At Hays in Malaysia, we operate across the private and public sector, dealing in permanent positions, and workforce solutions such as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) in the following specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Construction, Engineering, Human Resources, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Technology. We continue to strengthen our position in Asia with the world-leading ISO 9001:2015 certification in all our operational markets including Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2023, the Group employed over 12,300 staff operating from 249 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2023:

– the Group reported net fees of £1,294.6 million and operating profit of £197.0 million;
– the Group placed around 76,800 candidates into permanent jobs and around 245,000 people into temporary roles;
– 15% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 30% in Germany, 21% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement
business represented 43% of net fees;
– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (10%), are the next largest
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China,
Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the US