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REWIRE Info day I – Belgium

In the context of implementation of the REWIRE Cybersecurity Skills Alliance: A New Vision for Europe project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, the European Vocational Training Association (EVTA) and the European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (EfVET)  held the “REWIRE Cybersecurity Blueprint: The Future of Cybersecurity Education in Europe” event on January 31, 2023. The event gathered cybersecurity professionals, researchers, European stakeholders and international experts who discussed the recent initiatives in addressing the cybersecurity skills gaps and shortage of cybersecurity workforce.

Valentina Chanina and Giulia Meschino, Secretary Generals of EfVET and EVTA respectively, moderated the event which had as a main focus the promotion of the REWIRE Cybersecurity Blueprint that provides a global synthetic vision of all elements relevant for cybersecurity education. The keynote speaker, Mr Manos Athanatos, representing the Technical University of Crete,  briefly presented the main objectives and deliverables of the REWIRE project and gave a comprehensive overview of the main components of the European Cybersecurity Blueprint. This strategic document includes a skills framework built upon already existing work (ENISA, ECSF, ESCO, and other pilot projects training activities), information about the attractiveness of the cybersecurity sector in terms of employment, tools related to cybersecurity skills identification and development as well as information about the governance of cybersecurity skills framework in long term.

Other distinguished panelist speakers focused on different aspects of the European cybersecurity ecosystem from the increasing cybersecurity challenges faced by governments, educational institutions and general public to the lack of personnel with cybersecurity skills.

The Head of Sector for Applications & Human Factors at the European Cyber Security Organization (ESCO), Ms. Nina Olesen highlighted the need to equip the cybersecurity sector with the right skills and to coordinate efforts among relevant stakeholders for having enough experts to deal with the challenges brought on by the continuous digital transformation of our society and the increasing cyber threats we face. The need to achieve gender equality in cybersecurity domain was also recognized.

The director of UK and Ireland Operations in Cybersec Consulting, Ms. Sage Lal closed the panel discussion with his presentation on the future of cybersecurity skills and intelligence. He stressed the importance of building cybersecurity resilience and investing in cybersecurity skills development programs in order to effectively address cybersecurity challenges. The essential role that Technical Vocational Education and Training plays in tackling cybersecurity skills gap was rightly emphasized.

Attendees had the opportunity to get to know better the REWIRE project and engaged in a vivid discussion with the panelist speakers about the future of cybersecurity education. Overall, the event gave a comprehensive overview of the European Cybersecurity Blueprint and contributed to increasing cybersecurity awareness.

To know more about the REWIRE Cybersecurity Blueprint and about the good practices in tackling cybersecurity skills gap shared during the event, you can check the speakers’ presentations here: