Call to industry and academia: join the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy

Today, the Commission is opening a new call to higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, European universities alliances and industry to join the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy.

European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty , Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen said :

Cybersecurity is a top priority for the European Union, and bridging the skills gap is crucial to ensuring our digital economy remains secure and competitive. The launch of the Industry-Academia Network under the European Cyber Skills Academy is a significant step forward in achieving this goal. I encourage all stakeholders to join forces and together build a robust ecosystem that addresses the needs of the cybersecurity job market and supports the growth of a highly skilled EU workforce.

Objectives of the Industry-Academia Network

According to a recent study of ISC2, while the overall workforce need in the EU remained steady, ranging between 1.14M and 1.25M, the gap in the cybersecurity workforce grew from an estimated 274,000 in 2023 to 299,000 in 2024 – a 9% increase.

Against this backdrop, the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy aims to build concrete collaborations and set up partnerships amongst its members – all key actors from industry and academia, interdisciplinary, to respond to all skillsets cybersecurity roles call for; and ultimately growing the European cyber workforce.

This includes possible actions such as giving access to students to state-of-the-art trainings and certifications, the design and update of cybersecurity curricula and training offers, the provision of on-the-job cybersecurity courses, opening up apprenticeships, internships and traineeship opportunities, elaborating mentorship programmes, developing cybersecurity learning micro-credentials, and targeted career fairs.

Learn more and apply

You want to learn more on the Network? Check out Cyber Skills Academy: Get Involved | Digital Skills and Jobs Platform and the dedicated FAQ
Industry: Companies or firms who have already pledged to the Cybersecurity Skills Academy are automatically member of the network on the industry side. You are a company: become a pledger!
Academia: Higher education institutions, European Universities alliances, and VET providers interested in joining the network can apply through the EU Survey.

By joining forces, industry and academia can work together to address the pressing need for cybersecurity talent in the EU and create a more secure digital environment for all Europeans.

Background: signed partnerships under the Network

The Industry-Academia Network already counts 8 partnerships signed amongst members of the first promotion:

Background information

The Cybersecurity Skills Academy, launched on 18 April 2023, aims to foster knowledge generation, to ensure better channeling and visibility over available funding opportunities, to define indicators to monitor the evolution of the market and to call stakeholders to take action. Following this call to take action, organisations have taken free-of-charge commitments to bridge the cybersecurity talent gap in the EU and to skill the EU cybersecurity workforce, becoming pledgers of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy.

Building on feedback from pledgers, the Commission launched in June 2025 the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy. The Network’s primary objective is to foster cooperation between academia and industry and the significant skills and cybersecurity talent gap within the European Union.