Recognising the need to boost skills development and effectively address the skills gap in Europe, ENISA developed the European Cybersecurity Skills Framework (ECSF). ECSF is a cohesive framework meant to clearly defines the roles and competences of cybersecurity professionals in order to establish a common understanding of what these roles and competences should be. Based on a categorisation of the cybersecurity workforce into 12 distinct professional profiles, the framework sets a reference point and serves as a practical tool to identify and articulate the tasks, competences, and knowledge associated with key cybersecurity roles. The ECSF has become an indispensable source of information for organisations, professionals, and the academia throughout Europe.
Throughout the years, ENISA has been involved in diverse cybersecurity exercises organised at local, international, and EU-wide levels. The Agency also develops unique cyber exercise solutions, enabling stakeholders to tailor scenarios to their specific needs and even host their own exercises.
One of the most prominent and widely recognised ENISA’s cybersecurity initiatives is the Cyber Europe programme. Every two years, Cyber Europe attracts leading cybersecurity experts from the EU and EFTA's public and private sectors, as well as European Institutions, Bodies, and Agencies, to strengthen their technical and operational capabilities.
Testing, identifying gaps and enhancing the skills of IT professionals at the operational level are all activities at the core to ENISA’s mission. Trainings are key to building technical and operational security competencies and resilience.
ENISA introduced its ‘Cyber Security Training’ material in 2008. A “Train-the-Trainer” approach was employed to support the ENISA stakeholder community while the training material was provided additionally as a free download for strictly non-commercial use.
However, these earlier training materials (handbooks and virtual machines) are now archived and therefore no longer available. The feedback received though throughout the years indicates that the training material has been proved of help for many individuals to further develop their cyber skills and competencies.
