Cyber Security Specialist

In the 2014-2020 period, the Tuscan ESF programme defined training profiles to be funded with grants. Partnerships can apply for funding by participating in call for proposals and selecting the focus of their tranining courses among a list of eligible profiles. The list is constantly updated based on market needs and in 2018 the profile on Network security and data protection was added. This is the 1st edition of a training course (post-secondary school) on Cybersecurity, promoted by a vocational training centre provider together with University of Florence, 2 secondary schools and 2 companies. The partnership led by PIN Prato built on a territorial need to draft a successful project proposal focusing on vocational training for Cyber Security Specialists. The target was not to train university level experts but to train technicians able to manage security of company networks, and to answer Industry 4.0 challenges including IoT. The training course had a 1 year duration with 800 hours covering theoretical and practical sessions in addition to an internship. It was designed for 20 people (employed or not employed with a secondary school degree or equivalent). The quality of the CV received convinced the organisers to enlarge the number of applicants to 22. It brought together training centres, IT companies and secondary schools under the monitoring activity of Tuscany Region. The course raised awareness among companies about the importance of protecting corporate networks/data.