Lapses in government security are keeping computer system security at the top of the agenda, particularly within central government. We explore what challenges the recruitment of security checked IT contractors present to hiring managers.
So just how does the public sector put the right security measures in place whilst providing the right services in a timely manner to the public?
Government databases and customer information systems contain millions of public records and are accessible by several hundred thousand government employees across central and local government departments. There have been a fair few security breaches, significant enough in nature to result in employees being disciplined. Managing the security of this system and its highly sensitive data is clearly a massive and intricate task.
With the governments’ drive to make Britain more digital there is a need for more computer systems and databases of considerable size and complexity. So just how does the public sector put the right security measures in place whilst providing the right services in a timely manner to the public?
Having implemented N3, the fast broadband networking service for the NHS, the government has now created an information governance framework to help safeguard patient, system and employee information. This framework enables personal information to be handled in a more confidential and secure manner to appropriate ethical and quality standards in a modern health service.
New systems implementations and maintenance bring with them their own challenges, amongst them staffing with security compliant contractors and candidates. Amongst the security checks in demand at the moment are the Communications-Electronics Security Groups’ Listed Advisor Scheme (CLAS) and Disclosure Scotland whilst central government departments are implementing Baseline Personnel Security Standards (BPSS) to make sure that candidates are thoroughly vetted prior to starting their role.
Within the public sector we are currently seeing an increase in demand for IT audit staff and consultants to manage information governance targets. Business process analysts are needed to map systems’ information flow. There is a call for project managers and technical staff to help with the implementation of electronic document and records management (EDRM) solutions. IT technicians are needed to help the NHS implement encryption software to bolster the security around new systems such as N3 and NHS staff themselves need to be trained on the correct procedures to ensure that data is kept secure.
Clearly pre-screened IT contractors put themselves at a competitive advantage when they are looking for a new role, not only because they will fulfil one of the key qualifying criteria but the whole recruitment process will be quicker. Whilst hiring managers should always focus their search for the right candidate by selecting on the basis of skills, experience and attributes, some may look to speed up the hiring process for more urgent vacancies by prioritising candidates with security clearance.
2 Comments
The importance of experienced security cleared staff should not be underestimated. Central Government Departments seem to be experiencing a shortage of experienced DV vetted staff. BPSS does not really go very far for most security roles within Central Government departments, especially the ’secure’ ones. One of the Gov. Departments I am working at has decided not to upgrade lower securityclearances to a DV in future. This makes DV cleared staff even more critical in certain roles. If you have got a DV I would recommend you do what it takes to try and maintain it because it just may give you the edge when applying for a new role. I have experience of a Gov. Dept where you will not be trusted at all unless you have a DV!
For the supply of security-cleared contractors to be sufficient to enable a genuine choice for Departments, it is important that independent contractors and consultants be allowed to pay for themselves to go through the vetting process. At the moment a catch-22 situation applies which is frustrating for candidates and agencies alike.