Foreword

Governments, businesses, and individuals worldwide continue to face significant threats from cyber security breaches. The demand for cyber security professionals has grown substantially in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue, resulting in labour shortages in several countries. The first step in addressing the scarcity of skilled workers in the cyber security sector is to understand the supply and demand dynamics of cyber security skills. Governments and organisations can utilise this information to pinpoint vulnerabilities and determine areas requiring additional resources. From the demand side, analysing job postings can help identify trends in demand for cyber security professionals and the skills needed to strengthen organisations’ cyber security. Simultaneously, studying cyber security education and training programs offers insights into the evolving development of the cyber security workforce, shedding light on potential mismatches between supply and demand.

This report analyses the demand for cyber security professionals in France, Germany and Poland and zooms in on the provision of cyber security education and training programs in France. The report aims to provide a comparative analysis of cyber security demand in France, Germany and Poland, with a detailed analysis of the education and training programmes and policies put in place in France to make the profession more attractive and diverse. The report is the third in a series of studies that aim to expand knowledge on the cyber security workforce and related education and training provision in various regions and countries.

This work has been carried out by the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs and the OECD Centre for Skills. The report was prepared by Diego Eslava and Annikka Lemmens (Chapter 1 and 2) and Iván Bornacelly and Viktoria Kis (Chapter 1 and 3), under the supervision of Fabio Manca, Malgorzata Kuczera, and Marieke Vandeweyer. Editorial assistance was provided by Jennifer Cannon. Valuable comments were given by Mark Pearson (OECD Deputy Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) and El Iza Mohamedou (Head of the OECD Centre for Skills), as well as by colleagues from the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation.

The OECD is grateful to stakeholders in France for their input and feedback throughout the project, in particular the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Ministry of Digital Transformation and Cyber Campus, as well as the multiple training providers and universities that participated throughout the consultations. Our warm thanks go to the ministries in the countries analysed that provided feedback to the report and to the many education and training institutions, businesses, research institutions, and other organisations who generously shared their knowledge and insights during bilateral discussions. The support from Microsoft Philanthropies is highly appreciated.