Hello, and welcome back to this next TomCast from GuardSight; we are a tactical cybersecurity-as-a-service organization dedicated to helping businesses protect their data, their assets, and their endpoints.

Today we embark to a discussion on professional development with another of GuardSight’s own Director of Information Security and Professional Development, Richard Vallejo. Welcome Rich!

[Please listen to the TomCast to hear full interview.]

Rich, to begin the conversation, the term professional development (when doing a generic web search) seems to have a bunch of different definitions and associated steps or phases to address. What does professional development mean to you and GuardSight?

Is professional development really a necessity?

With the rapid pace of technology evolution and the struggle to keep up with the demands of ever-evolving networks/cyber weaponry/ and the risks associated with those, should professional development ever have to take a back seat to the ongoing demands of cybersecurity support?

In your experience, what is the best approach to take in order to consistently approach professional development in such a rapidly changing and fast-paced industry?

What risks are organizations taking that do not have a professional development program or practice in place?

What do you believe a good professional development program looks like?

I have heard about various organizations doing internships or apprenticeships; is this something that is included in a professional development program?

This is excellent information that organizations out there should most definitely employ in order to ensure the ongoing development of their workforces. We here at GuardSight thank you for taking the time to listen to this TomCast. Please share this if you believe it would be of assistance to anyone in your contact list, and please provide us some feedback in the comments so we can continue to improve. Thanks!