Cybersecurity Micro-credentials and Career Path Design: The Digital4Security Good Practices

Ricci, Sara, Dzurenda, Petr, Somers, Carmel, González-Vélez, Horacio and Moravek, Lisa Janine (2025) Cybersecurity Micro-credentials and Career Path Design: The Digital4Security Good Practices. In: Availability, Reliability and Security. ARES 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (15999). Springer, Cham, pp. 77-95. ISBN 978-3-032-00646-2

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Abstract

Cybersecurity is critical to safeguarding digital economies, yet the sector faces a significant expert shortage. Addressing this gap requires scalable and flexible education to upskill both specialists and nonspecialists. This paper introduces a novel, good-practice methodology for the design of micro-credentials and an AI-driven career path planning solution, both aligned with the European Cybersecurity Skills Framework (ECSF). The primary objective is to support the scalable development of standardized, ECSF-aligned cybersecurity micro-credentials that address evolving labour market needs and facilitate personalized career progression. The proposed approach is validated through the Digital4Security case study, where 17 ECSF-aligned micro-credentials were developed and analyzed. Additionally, a dedicated open-source web application, the Cybersecurity Career Path Designer, supports personalized pathway planning for users by matching existing skills to ECSF profiles. This work demonstrates a practical and scalable framework for aligning education with cybersecurity market needs.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Micro-credentials; Career Path; ECSF Framework; Cybersecurity Education; Methodology
Subjects:	L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science Q Science > QA Mathematics > Computer software > Computer Security T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Computer software > Computer Security L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > Vocational Education
Divisions:	School of Computing > Staff Research and Publications
Depositing User:	Tamara Malone
Date Deposited:	25 Aug 2025 12:03
Last Modified:	25 Aug 2025 12:03
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/8629

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