Cyber resilience: learning and skills action plan 2018-2020

Foreword

People are at the heart of our vision for Scotland to be a world leading nation in cyber resilience.

Fully realising the benefits of digital technology for Scotland, whether at home, at school, at work or at play, increasingly relies upon our ability to operate safely and confidently online.

This Cyber Resilience Learning and Skills Action Plan is the blueprint for government and its partners to work together to strengthen and further embed understanding of cyber resilience across our education and lifelong learning system. When implemented it will help ensure that people across Scotland, whether in early years, school, college or non-formal and workplace learning settings, have greater opportunities to develop the knowledge and behaviours they need to be safe and resilient in their online lives.

The plan also sets out our plans for ensuring that Scotland has a strong talent pipeline of individuals who are technically skilled in cyber security and cyber risk management, to help secure our businesses, charities and public services against current and future threats, and to develop and export innovative cyber security goods and services to the rest of the world. Supporting people to develop these specialist skills will be vital to the success of other action plans we are developing and implementing on cyber resilience, and which relate to the public, private and third sectors, as well as our forthcoming plan to help us to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by our work on cyber security.

Our people's emerging skills and talents in this area are already setting us on the path to success. We must build on these strong foundations and support people from all backgrounds to become confident, digitally literate citizens, capable of fully realising their potential in Scotland's digital future. With the right mix of leadership and commitment from government, the education and skills sector, industry and academia, I am convinced that we can make this happen.

John Swinney MSP
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

At the heart of this action plan is collaboration - both in terms of how it has been put together, how it will be delivered, and in its oversight. We now need as many organisations to buy in to the ambitions of this plan, and this includes policymakers — those people whose job it is to link agendas such as this so that we are improving people lives, public services and strengthening our communities and our economy in as coherent a way as possible.

We can no longer identify the digital world as a "separate space". Digital is integral to everything we do — especially for young people. Cyber resilience is crucial if we are to get the most out of digital. The cyber resilience agenda gives us the prospect of focusing on equity of opportunity. Of course there will be the risk of some people in some groups being left behind; it's our aim to ensure that this does not happen. We see this as a chance for us to review the way that digital intersects with our lives and to make sure that everyone is included in reaping its rewards.

The rights-based agenda is key to achieving a cyber resilient population. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals can really help us to drive forward opportunities for Scotland's young citizens to flourish in their use of digital technologies. This action plan is all the more timely for being launched early in Scotland's Year of Young People.

Finally, we want to really raise the profile of learning that takes place in informal and non-formal settings. Learning for cyber resilience (whether it's about being safe online as an individual, or learning technical cyber security skills) happens in community learning settings, in youth work and in third sector organisations, not just in schools and colleges. We want to make a plea for these organisations to get on board and to encourage their partners to come to the party too. Please do take the opportunity that this action plan offers on behalf of your learners and make sure that everyone in Scotland benefits as we become more cyber resilient and widen our horizons together.

Louise Macdonald, OBE
Chief Executive, Young Scot & Co-chair of the Learning and Skills Steering Group, National Cyber Resilience Leaders' Board

It's an exciting time to be progressing Scotland's digital future. Cyber resilience is such a crucial part of life so these skills are fundamental to the success and growth of Scotland's digital economy. As organisations are confronted with emerging digital security threats and risks, there is an increasing demand for specialist cyber security skills. This ambitious learning and skills action plan provides concrete steps to help grow a professional cyber security workforce that can protect our organisations from these threats. A key measure of success will be that cyber security is widely acknowledged as an established profession with clear career pathways and that more people are attracted to a career in cyber security.

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.

Gordon McGuinness,
Director of Industry & Enterprise Networks, Skills Development Scotland & Co-chair of the Learning and Skills Steering Group, National Cyber Resilience Leaders' Board