To implement various strategies related to personal and professional goals, a sense of awareness on the topic of cybersecurity must be enacted not only to combat future issues from arising but also to fulfill the demand for cybersecurity jobs in the industry. The first step is creating a system of education within lower and primary levels that will develop a basic understanding and framework around network security, while higher education would dive deeper into understanding the more meaningful components of cybersecurity. In order for these systems of education to be successful, they must place great significance on the skills needed to supply the workforce within every firm or company. As a majority of cybersecurity sectors are new to a lot of businesses, especially small businesses, future cyber professionals must understand the important role they are taking on as it becomes vital to address privacy concerns and to learn more about the growing online platforms that cybersecurity impacts. It is crucial for both lower and upper levels of education to continuously address key areas of concern as new, disruptive technologies emerge out of the internet of things, with the goal of eventually closing the large gap within the global and national labor markets. It is important to note this is a worldwide phenomenon, with each country tackling the effects within their nations.
Having the government set certain standards and objectives will be helpful and quite literally necessary for the future of the education system in order for the matter of cybersecurity to be taken seriously in addition to the future of the global job market to flourish. With the information technology sectors projected to grow by 31% by 2029, it is important for the future of work to consider developing educational efforts addressing cybersecurity areas of interest, especially with the growing number of attacks caused by phishing and malware in the education space due to lack of awareness. The University of Kent established a study related to the future of the cybersecurity workforce in the European Union which projected ways to address the shortage of workers along with the lack of motivation for individuals to enter the cybersecurity field. The report conveyed solutions that are valuable to countries outside the EU; it overall communicated the importance for scholarships for graduate students in cyber-related fields, governmental support, and “the adoption of a common framework regarding cybersecurity roles, competencies, skills, and knowledge.” Although the study was geared more toward higher levels of education, the valuable ideas brought forth can be even implemented for lower levels of education. In order to reach the audience of those completing lower levels of education, game-based platforms can be the solution that boosts learning productivity and motivation in privacy-related fields. For future advancements in younger individuals, online platforms with a “gaming” environment will allow individuals to boost their performance on network security and other related technology topics through the ability to learn at their own pace in an engaging and fun space.
As the strategies are being divulged, the challenges that face aspects of data security and privacy security education fields should be addressed. As remote learning brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic continues to flourish more threats signal challenges for K-12 learning, which further proves the need for education. Amongst hacks and cyber threats, budget allocation remains a consistent issue as so many individuals choose not to see the disruptive changes happening to our society and the vast effects it causes on the rest of the world. Although digitalization introduced the world to cybersecurity, it continuously shakes the industry as professionals have difficulty keeping up with the emerging technologies.