The war for security cleared resource
The competition for security cleared professionals is no longer a future concern - it is a present-day constraint on delivery, resilience and national capability. Across central government, defence and policing, organisations are racing to modernise systems, strengthen capabilities and deploy critical digital infrastructure. Yet many programmes are slowing or stalling for a single reason: they cannot access trusted, security-cleared expertise quickly enough.
At BrightBox, demand for SC, DV and NPPV-cleared professionals is one of the fastest-growing areas we see.
A shortage the numbers make impossible to ignore
The data is stark. Approximately 180,000 people hold active security clearances in the UK, spread across SC (Security Check), DV (Developed Vetting) and NPPV (National Policing Pre-employment Vetting). This represents a tiny fraction of the UK's 1.98 million technology professionals.
When you filter for specific technical skills - cloud architects, platform engineers, data specialists, AI practitioners - the available pool shrinks dramatically. Add in the requirement for active, transferable clearance and you're often competing for dozens of people, not thousands.
Clearance timelines compound the problem. SC clearances typically take 6-12 weeks but can extend to several months. DV clearances routinely take 6-18 months. For time-sensitive programmes, these delays are incompatible with delivery timelines.
In practice, this means organisations are competing for the same limited resource pool, driving up day rates while extending time-to-deploy well beyond the pace of modern digital programmes.
Clearance turns scarcity into delivery risk
For programmes requiring SC, DV or NPPV-cleared resource, the challenge is not simply availability - it is programme risk.
Vacant or under-resourced cleared roles are not neutral gaps. They directly impact delivery velocity, increase reliance on overstretched internal teams and create single points of failure. Government audits consistently highlight that a significant proportion of digital and technology roles requiring clearance remain vacant or are filled on short-term arrangements, weakening institutional capability and programme continuity.
Traditional permanent hiring models struggle to address this reality. Even when budget is available, organisations cannot afford to wait months to secure critical expertise, only to find that skills requirements have evolved by the time clearances complete and individuals start.
Why permanent hiring alone is no longer enough
Security cleared technology skills are highly perishable.
Clearances lapse if unused. Platforms evolve. Requirements shift. A permanent hire made today may not align with programme needs twelve or eighteen months later, yet the cost and risk of carrying fixed headcount remains.
At the same time, competition for cleared professionals increases attrition risk. Individuals holding active clearances are heavily pursued across government, defence and the private sector, making long-term retention far from guaranteed.
This creates a structural mismatch between static employment models and dynamic, security-sensitive delivery environments.
On-demand, security cleared resource: a liquid workforce model
In response, leading organisations are shifting how they access capability.
Rather than attempting to own scarce skills permanently, they are accessing on-demand professionals who are already vetted, background-checked and actively cleared to SC, DV or NPPV level.
This approach delivers three decisive advantages:
Speed to delivery
Pre-cleared professionals can be deployed in days or weeks rather than months, bypassing clearance bottlenecks and aligning resource availability with programme timelines.Precision over headcount
Organisations engage specialists for defined outcomes and durations, not open-ended roles. Skills are applied exactly where they create the most value, for as long as they are needed, without inflating permanent establishment.Lower risk, higher resilience
By reducing dependency on single permanent hires, organisations improve continuity, limit exposure to attrition and maintain flexibility as programme requirements evolve.
A structural shift, not a temporary fix
On-demand, security cleared resource is not a stopgap. It is a structural response to how digital delivery, regulation and risk are evolving across the public sector.
As threat landscapes intensify, cloud and AI adoption accelerates, and regulatory scrutiny increases, the ability to assemble trusted capability at speed becomes both a delivery and operational advantage.
This model is particularly effective across:
Cloud and platform modernisation in central government and defence
Data and analytics programmes involving classified or sensitive information
AI and automation initiatives requiring SC or DV oversight
Policing technology programmes requiring NPPV-cleared specialists
Programme delivery surges where internal capacity is constrained
The organisations that succeed will be those that move beyond outdated hiring assumptions and adopt a more liquid, outcome-driven approach to accessing cleared capability.
The future workforce is trusted, flexible and on-demand
The competition for security cleared resource will only intensify. Demographic pressures, accelerating digital programmes and expanding clearance requirements all point in the same direction.
Those who continue to rely solely on permanent hiring will face rising costs, slower delivery and increased programme risk. Those who embrace on-demand access to pre-vetted, actively cleared professionals will move faster, reduce risk and unlock delivery capacity without sacrificing control or trust.
At Brightbox, we believe this liquid workforce model is the future of secure digital delivery across government, defence and policing - and one of the most important operational shifts of the decade.
