1. Enhancing the cybersecurity knowledge of VET high school students and facilitating their transition into cybersecurity-related careers. 2. Assisting VET teachers in improving their career guidance skills to guide students toward cybersecurity employment opportunities. 3. Establishing a cybersecurity internship program to foster collaboration between VET schools and SMEs, thereby offering practical learning interventions in the field of cybersecurity.
We initiated this project with the goal of engaging and inspiring high school students who have an interest in IT and cybersecurity. Our aim is to create opportunities for them to explore cybersecurity career paths and guide them toward employment in this expansive new field. The needs we addressed included: 1. Supporting VET Teachers: Helping teachers to learn how to align their career guidance skills with IT/cybersecurity professional knowledge and market needs. 2. Empowering VET Students: An intensive 5-day cybersecurity training focused to attract and motivate students. This included teaching essentials of cybersecurity skills as well as focusing their awareness on todays and future career opportunities. 3. Creating Internship Guidelines: Methodological guidelines for VET high school cybersecurity internships. This addresses a lack of resources in high school education in regards to cybersecurity. 4. SME Collaboration: Enhancing collaboration between SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and educational institutions to address workforce gaps. Currently there is a significant shortage of cybersecurity professionals in both private and public sectors. There is an expected 4 million job vacancies in the EU by 2025.