How do you level up the junior operators on your cybersecurity team? How do you enable them to develop into senior operators?

As with any growth opportunity you have to let them experience what it takes to get the job done. One of the best ways is to have them shadow a senior operator to learn the task at hand, and then letting them do the task eventually.

It's a combination of learning and hands on experience that'll make the best employee. As long as they are willing to learn and have a good attitude, that's a recipe for success.

You can also have them participate in varying degrees of controlled environment capture the flag activities such as Hack The Box or Immersive Labs.

I take a really personal approach with more junior staff. I try to find out what makes them tick, how they like to work, how they like to learn, and what management style they work best with. If I know this sort of information I can maximise their experience of work by ensuring they are engaged. 

I also only recruit senior cyber people who are willing to coach and mentor younger staff. More senior people are a vital source of knowledge and learning. It helps when they can also explain in everyday language what something more technical in nature means. 

I also get them to write up a process to share with others, and these help others get up to speed more quickly.

Finally, we draw out the different training and learning pathways in cyber so that our people can map out their careers. We find that early-career people want to know the next role or how the next two years look.