Cybersecurity Workforce Learning Outcomes
Achieving a strong foundation for educating Canada’s cybersecurity workforce is paramount in addressing the skills gap in the Canadian cybersecurity space and enabling a fulfilling career for those interested in cybersecurity.
These Learning Outcomes are intended to inform training and education providers on suggested learning outcomes for candidates pursuing cybersecurity careers. The learning outcomes were designed to help ensure that candidates looking to be employed in an organizational cybersecurity team have demonstrated competence in cybersecurity foundations and the general work domain prior to pursuing specialization.
Developed by a national and diverse group of education and industry professionals, the Learning Outcomes are intended to:
How do these Learning Outcomes support a career in Cybersecurity?
The authors ensured the learning pathway includes initial learning requirements that apply to all candidates entering the cybersecurity field regardless of domain. These are considered the cybersecurity foundations supporting cross-functional competencies for the cybersecurity occupation.
Cybersecurity foundations are followed by functional work area learning outcomes that are aligned with the Canadian Cybersecurity Skills Framework major work categories: Oversee & Govern, Design & Develop, Operate & Maintain, and Protect and Defend. These delve more deeply into cybersecurity work within the identified work category that are needed to effectively function in that domain
Who will benefit from an education aligned to these Cybersecurity Learning Outcomes?
Upon completion of these learning outcomes candidates should be able to fill entry level cybersecurity roles within an organization in that functional area/work category. This also provides an important bridge between entry level and specialized work that has not typically been available in post-secondary education programs.
Once these work category learning outcomes have been achieved, candidates may continue to build on their capabilities in that work category as a generalist or progress into specialized often more technical cybersecurity work.