Security Training And Awareness Services Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Global Security Training And Awareness Services Market Trends and Insights

Increasing regulatory mandates for workforce cyber-hygiene

The EU NIS2 Directive obliges entities in 18 critical sectors to deploy role-based training, prompting immediate procurement of specialised programmes. ^{[1]European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, “NIS2 Technical Implementation Guidance,” enisa.europa.eu} Financial institutions in Europe face parallel pressure from DORA, effective 2025, that prescribes security training for all staff. In the United States, new SEC rules compel listed firms to disclose material incidents within four business days, spurring demand for incident-response education. Organizations now commit 9% of IT budgets to information security, and half of the senior leadership attend dedicated sessions to evidence compliance. These mandates transform training from a discretionary spend into a line-item necessity that auditors monitor for effectiveness.

Surge in ransomware and phishing attacks targeting remote staff

Average ransomware payments hit USD 2.73 million in 2024 as attackers exploited home-office weaknesses. AI-generated phishing raised success rates by 55% between 2023 and 2025, outranking human red teams in crafting believable lures. APAC now absorbs 31% of global cyber strikes, with some enterprises logging 10,000 daily alerts. Healthcare exemplifies the financial stakes: the Lehigh Valley Health Network breach ended in a USD 65 million settlement, underscoring the value of proactive staff education. Programmes delivering at least four targeted phishing drills per year boost suspicious email reporting rates to 50%, far above single-session approaches.

Growing C-suite accountability for human-layer breaches

Boards are now personally liable under NIS2, driving executives to demand evidence-backed training outcomes. Studies link active leadership participation to 15-25% lower breach costs, proving culture starts at the top. New York’s Department of Financial Services mandates CISO oversight of employee education, further institutionalising the practice. As 68% of breaches stem from human error, executive interest in measurable behaviour change fuels premium demand for analytics-rich platforms.

Adoption of AI-driven adaptive learning platforms

Vendors deploy machine-learning engines that personalise modules in real time. KnowBe4’s HRM+ applies behavioural telemetry to tailor content and deliver on-screen coaching. Adaptive Security fuses open-source intelligence with user scores to plot risk-based training paths. Continuous content refresh aligns lessons with emerging threats, a necessity as AI accelerates attack innovation. Early adopters report higher quiz completion and faster phishing-report rates, confirming effectiveness over static slideware.

End-user fatigue and declining completion rates for repetitive modules

Seventy-one percent of employees still take risky actions despite knowing the consequences, a pattern linked to cognitive overload from redundant slide shows. ^{[2]Proofpoint, “2024 State of the Phish Report,” proofpoint.com} A 19,500-person study from US universities found no significant correlation between completed courses and phishing-simulation success, spotlighting instructional design flaws. Large-scale analysis across 12,511 staff at a fintech firm echoed these findings, recording effect sizes below 0.01 for traditional training. Such results propel demand for gamified micro-learning that breaks monotony, retains attention, and supplies instant feedback.

Budget re-prioritisation toward zero-trust technology over training

Enterprises poured USD 212 billion into cybersecurity in 2025, with many favouring automated controls that promise quicker wins. Sixty percent of large banks plan full zero-trust rollouts by 2026, threatening to siphon funds from human-centric initiatives. Economic models caution firms not to exceed 37% of expected loss on any single security investment, intensifying scrutiny on training ROI. Nonetheless, 89% of companies subject to NIS2 still need additional staff to fulfil the directive, confirming that education remains indispensable. Vendors that integrate technical controls with analytics-rich training stand best placed to defend budgets.

Segment Analysis

By Service Type: Simulation-based training dominates

Phishing simulation accounted for 37.8% of the security training and awareness services market share in 2024, underlining corporate focus on the most exploited attack vector. Gamified security awareness is forecast to accelerate at an 8.8% CAGR, driven by demand for engaging experiences that cut through alert fatigue. The security training and awareness services market size for gamified programmes is predicted to grow from USD 430 million in 2025 to USD 675 million by 2030, alongside these dynamics. Policy and compliance training retains a steady user base owing to DORA and sector-specific mandates. Executive coaching modules gain ground as liability shifts to the boardroom.

Early success stories reinforce the trend. SANS Institute’s “Snack Attack!” raised knowledge retention scores by two-thirds after a four-week programme. ^{[3]SANS Institute, “Snack Attack! Gamified Ransomware Defense Training,” sans.org} Keepnet Labs recorded a 99% phishing-recognition rate among 1,800 employees after a three-month gamified roll-out. Specialty modules around AI-threat awareness and supply-chain security emerge as new revenue streams, mirroring the wider threat landscape.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Delivery Mode: Mobile learning transforms access

Web-based self-paced courses controlled 53.3% of revenue in 2024, but their share is eroding as smartphone-friendly formats bloom. Security training and awareness services market size for mobile-based micro-learning is projected to grow at a 9.2% CAGR to hit USD 910 million by 2030. KnowBe4’s Mobile Learner App packs more than 100 short modules that staff can complete in three-minute bursts. Instructor-led sessions still matter for deep-dive topics such as incident-response drills, especially in healthcare and finance. Blended programmes that interweave live webinars, simulations, and short quizzes achieve some of the highest completion rates.

Hybrid-work realities and just-in-time support needs drive the migration to mobile. Phished Academy reports near-universal course completions when lessons arrive immediately after a user’s risky action, confirming the value of contextual delivery. Employers also appreciate lower production costs: micro-learning clips typically cost 40% less to refresh than 30-minute slide decks.

By Organization Size: SME adoption accelerates

Large enterprises retained 68.3% of 2024 revenue, yet SMEs provide the fastest incremental opportunity as affordable cloud platforms democratise access. Security training and awareness services market size for SMEs is set to grow at a 9.6% CAGR, reflecting heightened attacker attention; 43% of breaches already hit firms with fewer than 250 staff. Typical breach recovery costs between USD 120,000 and USD 1.24 million dwarf the USD 5,000-50,000 annual outlay for structured training, tilting ROI equations in favour of education.

Customised content tuned to SME workflows cuts incident volumes by up to 65% and lowers deployment costs by 40% versus one-size-fits-all suites. Meanwhile, multinationals pursue expansive rollouts such as KnowBe4 HRM+, which blends coaching, email filtering, and analytics, underscoring market bifurcation between turnkey cloud offerings and enterprise-scale platforms.

By Industry Vertical: Healthcare growth accelerates

BFSI led with 29.7% of 2024 revenue, upheld by strict audit regimes and high-value targets. Healthcare follows as the fastest riser at 8.6% CAGR through 2030, stimulated by 725 reported breaches in 2023 alone. The security training and awareness services market size in healthcare is forecast to reach USD 515 million by 2030. Mandatory annual training from the US Department of Health and Human Services illustrates regulatory pull. IT and telecom firms adopt advanced AI-driven simulations early, while government and defence demand tailored exercises addressing nation-state threats.

Energy, retail, and manufacturing now embed supply-chain risk modules as interconnected operations expand attack surfaces. Verticals with compliance heavyweights or immediate patient-safety implications allocate larger per-employee budgets, directing vendor roadmaps toward sector-specific content libraries.

Geography Analysis

North America generated 38.3% of global revenue in 2024 on the back of SEC disclosure rules and NYDFS training mandates, with companies reporting 50x ROI from targeted anti-phishing programmes. The United States alone represented more than 40% of worldwide cybersecurity spending in 2025, signalling the premium placed on human-layer controls. Canada and Mexico add momentum through expanding cloud adoption and cross-border privacy statutes that standardise curriculum requirements.

Europe’s outlook is regulation-led. Germany raised cybersecurity outlays 13.8% to EUR 11.2 billion (USD 12.6 billion) in 2024, funneling sizeable portions into awareness services. ^{[4]Bitkom e.V., “Germany Cybersecurity Spending Tops EUR 10 Billion,” bitkom.org} DORA forces all finance employees to complete role-specific courses, while NIS2 extends obligations across 18 critical sectors. Businesses assign 9% of IT budgets to security, and over half of executives now attend workshops, reflecting a cultural shift. Skills shortages—estimated at 300,000 positions—boost outsourced training demand.

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing market at a 9.0% CAGR, helped by 12.8% forecast growth in regional cybersecurity spend to USD 52 billion by 2027. Japan earmarks workforce upskilling funds as its cyber market heads toward USD 13.25 billion by 2029. Australia’s Cybersecurity Bill 2024 and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act elevate baseline expectations for employee proficiency. Enterprises in China, India, and Singapore face rising insurance premiums unless they document training effectiveness, further fuelling uptake.