Fortinet, a US-based cybersecurity company, on Thursday said the Philippines faces a cybersecurity workforce gap of up to 15 times the global benchmark, sounding the alarm for greater investment in workforce training.
The Philippines has only one cybersecurity professional for every 2,000 to 3,000 employees, compared with the benchmark of one for every 200 employees, Veronica “Bambi” Escalante, country manager of Fortinet Philippines, said, citing one of the company’s surveys.
She told BusinessWorld that the gap is expected to widen as emerging technologies force organizations to seek cybersecurity professionals with broader skill sets.
“As new technologies are added, organizations need to find not only cybersecurity experts but they should also have data skills, cloud skills, and now AI skills,” Ms. Escalante said in an interview during the third day of VST ECS CXO Tech Summit 2026.
“Imagine looking at all those skills, we are the same people,” she added.
To address the skills gap, Ms. Escalante urged organizations and the government to invest in upskilling programs.
Fortinet has trained more than 500,000 people in cybersecurity toward its target of reaching one million, she said.
In the Philippines, Fortinet’s Academic Partner Program works with educational institutions to provide students with cybersecurity training, hands-on laboratory experience and certification opportunities to prepare them for careers in the field.
“(We have to) train. That’s why we’re going back to the grassroots, we’re training the students, we’re spreading cyber awareness, we’re promoting that training is available publicly,” Ms. Escalante said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva