Abstract
This chapter examines the evolving nature and scope of professional security and the opportunities and challenges facing the security profession today and in the years to come. Drawing on their experiences in leadership roles in ASIS International and the UK’s Security Institute, the authors discuss the key features of contemporary professions and the challenges they face in the coming years and decades. These include those presented by the fourth industrial revolution, as the World Economic Forum describes the era we are now entering. Among the notable trends impacting the security profession that they identify are the exponential growth of cyber security threats, the rise of convergence thinking, career pathways and skills development to meet current and future needs, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wakefield and Gips argue that, for security practitioners, the pace of change is such that the ability to continually adapt and develop their practice is vital, while their representative bodies need to be able to support them in developing the widening knowledge and skill sets necessary for the future.
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Wakefield, A., Gips, M. (2022). Professional Security in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In: Gill, M. (eds) The Handbook of Security. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91735-7_34
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