CyberStarter

Background

In Romania, LinkedIn data suggests that the demand for cybersecurity skills has grown by 31% over the last year alone. In this context, it has become almost a basic requirement for people to make themselves aware of the cyber risks that are out there and what they can do to protect themselves.

Starting a career in cybersecurity without previous knowledge is not as complicated and does mean that one needs to make a big investment of time and money to enter as a junior in cybersecurity. Regardless of background and previous experience, transitioning to a job in cybersecurity is very achievable if the training programme is structured in such a way that it is aligned with the set of skills required by industry. As already mentioned, the demand for more specialists in cybersecurity is very high and there are potentially many opportunities available.

Our pledge

The CyberStarter project developed a strong and sound cybersecurity course for beginners which covers the basics and the main areas of IT security and data protection. The course is delivered in a hybrid model and contains all the elements to equip with the skills needed to perform junior cybersecurity tasks within an organisation.

In Romania, entry-level positions mainly feature roles such as Cybersecurity Specialist or Technician, IT auditor, and Incident Responder. The project team performs research on these roles as a way to align the course curriculum so that the course builds the skills needed by companies advertising entry level positions.

Our initiative

Main objectives of this initiative:

• Develop an intensive cybersecurity training program of at least 180 hours to be completed in 6 months
• Deliver cybersecurity training and certification for at least 100 people
•  Support 50 people to access entry level cybersecurity jobs
•  Organise a job-fair type event for at least 50 beneficiaries to ensure exposure to employers and available entry-level cybersecurity jobs
•  Develop a CyberStarter Toolkit in Romanian language to serve the general public and workers in SMEs who need to build understanding and put in procedures to stay safe from cyberattacks.
•  Organise a national awareness raising campaign to help at least 2000 people stay cybersafe.