Measuring progress: built-in accountability
Under this area the Cyber Skills Academy addresses two main aspects:
- Data available on the status and progress of cyber skills.
- Indicators (existing or to be developed) for measuring the status and progress of cyber skills.
Data on cyber skills
The new Eurobarometer survey on cyber skills (May 2024) highlights a significant awareness of the importance of cybersecurity among companies, with 71% recognizing it as a high priority. However, the survey reveals a gap in action, with 74% of companies not providing any training or awareness programs for their employees. Among the key findings of the survey, the challenge of recruiting people with the right cyber skills stands out, with 45% of the companies surveyed reporting hiring difficulties in finding qualified candidates. Do you want to know more? Check the full report here!
According to Fortinet's recent 2024 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global Research Report 51% of organisations report that senior executives have faced fines, jail time, loss of position or loss of employment following a cyber-attack, while 58% of IT decision-makers say that the number one cause of security breaches is IT/security staff lacking cybersecurity skills and training.
Also, looking at the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook report, published in January 2024, the impact the skills gap has on businesses is alarming. 36% of respondents list the skills gaps as the main challenge to achieving their cyber-resilience goals.
Indicators on cyber skills
The Cyber Skills Academy will develop a methodology to monitor the evolution of the market and the progress achieved in closing the cybersecurity skills gap. For this, it will define indicators to address better the needs on one hand, and on the other, the offer of trainings, as well as to better direct funds towards the needs.
Relevant EU measurement frameworks in this regard include:
- The Report on the State of the Digital Decade (2023 onwards) is the first of a series of annual reports - and a call to Member States for collective actions to address the current investment gaps, accelerate digital transformation in Europe and intensify efforts to reach the objectives of the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP).
- The Digital Economy and Skills Index (DESI) (until 2022) summarises indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the progress of EU countries. The European Commission has been monitoring Member States’ digital progress through the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) reports since 2014, including on digital skills.
- Eurostat also conducts periodical workforce statistics on ICT specialists in employment. For example, in 2021, 80.9 % of men were employed as ICT specialists in the EU against 19.1 % of women. Furthermore, in 2021, about two thirds (64.5 %) of ICT specialists in the EU had completed a tertiary level of education. The cybersecurity sector could benefit from specific statistics that would demonstrate the gaps in cyber skills across the EU.
if you want to propose any relevant information on indicators related to cyber skills, send us your proposal here.