Scottish Government’s education and learning cyber resilience strategy aims to raise awareness

Children working on a computer - Image credit: Adobe stock images

The Scottish Government has published its learning and skills cyber resilience strategy for 2018-20 to raise awareness and prepare businesses for future cyber threats.

Published for Scottish Apprenticeship Week, the strategy has four main aims: to raise awareness of cyber resilience, to embed it in the education and lifelong learning systems, to increase cyber resilience in the workplace and to develop the cyber security workforce.

The plan identifies actions that are already being taken in each of these areas, as well as weaknesses that need to be addressed further, with dates for completion of each point.

Actions include disseminating cyber awareness messages, embedding cyber resilience into the early years curriculum, strengthening the focus on cyber resilience in teacher training and including cyber security in future skills planning.

The strategy was produced by the National Cyber Resilience Leaders’ Board working with other organisations including Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.

It was launched by economy secretary Keith Brown, who said it was a “blueprint” for the Scottish Government and its partners across the public and private sectors to work together to enhance understanding of cyber security.

He said: “We want to see people across Scotland, whether in early years, school, college or the workplace, get greater opportunities to develop the skills needed to be safe and resilient in their online lives.

“The plan also sets out how we can ensure we have a strong pool of professionals able to secure our businesses, charities and public services against current and future threats, and who can develop innovative goods and services for the rest of the world.

“Supporting the development of these specialist skills will be vital to the success of other activity on cyber resilience as well as our forthcoming plan to help us to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by our work on cyber security.”

Gordon McGuinness, director of industry and enterprise networks at Skills Development Scotland and co-chair of the National Cyber Resilience Leaders’ Board’s learning and skills steering group, said: “I have been delighted to support the development of this action plan.

“Skills Development Scotland will play a key role in helping people achieve career success in cyber security.

“However to extend the talent pool Scotland needs, a collaborative approach is critical, and stakeholders and industry need to work together.

“This will all contribute to Scotland becoming a leading nation in cyber resilience.”