Title page
Contents
Acknowledgments 2
Glossary of Terms 6
Executive Summary 9
1. Introduction 13
1.1. Study objectives and scope 13
1.2. Methodological approach 16
2. Cyber Security Courses & Educational Building Blocks 19
2.1. Cyber security courses in the Further Education sector 19
2.2. Cyber security courses in the Higher Education sector 23
2.3. Profile of cyber security courses and students 24
2.4. STEM and non-STEM perspective in cyber security 31
3. Pathways to Cyber Security Jobs through FE or HE 33
3.1. Identifying the main pathways 33
3.2. Entry-level requirements for cyber security jobs 41
3.3. Factors influencing the pathways 43
4. How Cyber Security Courses are Developed and Industry's Role 44
4.1. How cyber security courses are developed 44
4.2. Role of industry in developing and delivering courses 45
4.3. Industry-recognised professional certifications 49
4.4. How well-matched are FE and HE provision to employers' needs? 50
5. Gender Balance in Cyber Security 52
5.1. Reasons for the gender imbalance 54
5.2. Steps being taken to address the imbalance and best practice 57
6. Overall Conclusions and Recommendations 61
6.1. Cyber security courses and the educational building blocks 61
6.2. Pathways to cyber security jobs 63
6.3. How cyber security courses are developed and industry's role 65
6.4. Gender balance in cyber security 66
Appendix A: Examples of Professional Accreditation by Institution and/or Organisation 69
Appendix B: List of References 70
Appendix C: Survey questions 73
Table 1.1. Summary of the interview programme and survey 17
Table 2.1. Students on Level 3 class-based courses in the ICT subject area 21
Table 2.2. Apprenticeships in ICT 22
Table 2.3. ICT practitioners attaining standards in cyber security related fields at various levels 22
Table 2.4. Number of cyber security and computer science courses in England (2017-18) 24
Table 2.5. Number of students graduating from a cyber security related course by degree level 25
Table 2.6. Percentage of students graduating from a cyber security related field by domicile 25
Table 3.1. Pathways to entry-level cybersecurity jobs 34
Table 3.2. Destination of students after key stage 5 (Level 3) in England across all subjects, 2013/2014 (state-funded mainstream schools and colleges) 37
Table 3.3. Number of cyber security graduates and postgraduates, 2014-17 38
Table 3.4. Number of students studying STEM subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, 2016-17 38
Table 3.5. Domicile of cyber security graduates and postgraduates, 2014-17 39
Table 3.6. Percentage of students domiciled in the UK and the EU going into the cyber security field by course type at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, 2014-17 40
Table 5.1. Gender breakdown by year across FE and HE in cyber security courses or courses with a cyber security module 52
Table 5.2. Percentage of A Level students entering for Maths and Science A Level by gender, England, (2016-17) 53
Table 5.3. Gender breakdown for STEM Degrees (2016-17) 53
Figure 2.1. Categorisation of HE cyber security courses and courses that have a cyber security module or component at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in England (2014-2017) 24
Figure 3.1. FE and HE Pathways to entry-level cyber security jobs 33
Figure 4.1. Percentage of FE and HE institutions indicating that employers or industry bodies are involved in developing cyber security courses and modules 45
Figure 4.2. In your view, have these accreditations had an impact on employability? 49
Figure 5.1. In your view, what is the reason for the gender imbalance? 56
Boxes
Box 2.1. Case example: Qufaro remote provision of cyber security further education 20
Box 2.2. Typology of Cyber Security Courses 23
Box 2.3. Degree Apprenticeships 28
Box 2.4. Industry-led Degree Apprenticeships 29
Box 3.1. Case Study on Pathway A 36
Box 3.2. Case study: Apprenticeships at the Government Security Profession Unit 36
Box 3.3. Case Study on Pathway B 37
Box 4.1. Examples of industry involvement in cyber security courses 46
Box 4.2. Cap Geminis Cyber Security Higher Apprenticeship scheme 47
Box 4.3. Cyber Security certifications that can be gained as part of FE and HE courses 50
Box 5.1. Examples of gender balance on cyber security courses 54
Box 5.2. Steps to help ensure gender balance 58
Box 5.3. Examples of ways to brand hackathons 59
Box 6.1. Recommendations - Cyber Security Courses and the Educational Building Blocks 63
Box 6.2. Recommendations - Pathways to Cyber Security Jobs 65
Box 6.3. Recommendations - How cyber security courses are developed and industry's role 66
Box 6.4. Recommendations - Gender balance in cyber security 68