{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T12:07:12Z","timestamp":1770466032620,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,17]],"date-time":"2024-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721174400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["ICS"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,25]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The accelerated digital transformation and the growing emphasis on privacy, safety and security present ongoing challenges for cybersecurity experts. Alongside these challenges, the multidisciplinary, everchanging and complex nature of the cybersecurity domain has further challenged the acquisition and retention of cybersecurity talent. Empowering reskilling and upskilling in cybersecurity necessitates efficacious educational endeavours which promote self-confidence and foster a growth mindset. The purpose of this paper is to highlight that cultivating self-efficacy in cybersecurity education can help promote competency development and effectively address the prominent skills gaps. This notion applies equally to both aspiring individuals pursuing a career in cybersecurity and professionals in the field who may wish to better articulate the skills they already possess, the skills they lack and newly surfacing skills that need to be developed.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The study discusses the imminent need for adopting a \u201cskills-first\u201d approach in cybersecurity and explores innovative pedagogies and professional frameworks that can inform and frame such an approach. Subsequently, a critical analysis of the importance of self-efficacy towards motivating and supporting upskilling in cybersecurity is performed. A case study is presented, expanding the authors\u2019 previous work on cybersecurity professional development, to demonstrate the mediating role that self-efficacy can play in developing core cybersecurity competencies. The case study presents the design of a new cybersecurity curriculum in the context of postgraduate, synchronous distance cybersecurity education, and it is utilised as a basis to discuss how the proposed curriculum cultivates self-efficacy attitudes.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>A skills-first approach is becoming the new norm in contemporary workplaces. This work highlights the importance of actively nurturing self-efficacy attitudes through innovative cybersecurity curricula that can be tailored to the learners\u2019 needs, instigating a drive for learning and, ultimately, helping learners effectively upskilling by portraying a self-directed learning path and a professional growth mindset in cybersecurity.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The authors present the importance of cultivating self-efficacy in higher and lifelong education to foster reskilling and upskilling in cybersecurity. An innovative cybersecurity curriculum was constructed and delivered with a group of learners demonstrating how self-efficacy can be leveraged through interactive, reflective and self-assessment educational activities that enhanced motivation and self-awareness, curiosity, attention to detail and resilience \u2013 key skills for a successful career in cybersecurity.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/ics-02-2024-0038","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,16]],"date-time":"2024-07-16T12:37:24Z","timestamp":1721133444000},"page":"523-541","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Cultivating self-efficacy to empower professionals\u2019 re-up skilling in cybersecurity"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Eliana","family":"Stavrou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Andriani","family":"Piki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,17]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"key2024092315395610600_ref001","article-title":"CyberAlumni a cybersecurity collaboratory","volume":"10","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of The Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref002","volume-title":"Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control","year":"1997"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2024092315395610600_ref003","first-page":"307","article-title":"Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales","volume":"5","year":"2006","journal-title":"Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Adolescents"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2024092315395610600_ref004","article-title":"Computer science beyond coding: Partnering to create teacher","volume":"12","year":"2022","journal-title":"Education Sciences"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2024092315395610600_ref005","first-page":"5","article-title":"Cyber security meets security politics: complex technology, fragmented politics, and networked science","volume":"41","year":"2019","journal-title":"Contemporary Security Policy"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref006","unstructured":"Cornerstone (2020), \u201cCornerstone reports significant increase in online learning as organizations transition to remote work globally\u201d, available at: www.cornerstoneondemand.com\/uk\/company\/news-room\/press-releases\/Cornerstone-Data-Reveals-Organizations-and-Employees-are-Prioritizing-Online-Learning-in-New-Work-Environment\/"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref007","volume-title":"Experience and Education","year":"1938"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref008","unstructured":"Digital Skills and Jobs Platform (2021), \u201cEuropean initiatives: digital decade\u201d, available at: https:\/\/digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu\/en\/actions\/european-initiatives\/digital-decade"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref009","unstructured":"ENISA (2023), \u201cEuropean cybersecurity skills framework (ECSF)\u201d, available at: www.enisa.europa.eu\/topics\/education\/european-cybersecurity-skills-framework"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref010","unstructured":"European Commission (2021), \u201cProposal for a decision establishing the 2030 policy programme \u2018path to the digital decade\u2019\u201d, available at: https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/library\/proposal-decision-establishing-2030-policy-programme-path-digital-decadehttps:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/library\/proposal-decision-establishing-2030-policy-programme-path-digital-decade"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref011","unstructured":"European Commission (2022), \u201cEuropean year of skills 2023\u201d, available at: https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/strategy-and-policy\/priorities-2019-2024\/europe-fit-digital-age\/european-year-skills-2023_en"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref012","unstructured":"European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) (2021), \u201cAddressing skills shortage and gap through higher education\u201d, available at: www.enisa.europa.eu\/publications\/addressing-skills-shortage-and-gap-through-higher-education"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103188","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cose.2023.103188","article-title":"Cybersecurity communities of practice: strategies for creating gateways to participation","volume":"132","year":"2023","journal-title":"Computers and Security"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102080","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cose.2020.102080","article-title":"The cybersecurity workforce and skills","volume":"100","year":"2021","journal-title":"Computers and Security"},{"issue":"10","key":"key2024092315395610600_ref016","article-title":"Assessing cyber security coverage in non-computing disciplines","volume":"2023","year":"2023","journal-title":"Computer Fraud and Security"},{"key":"key2024092315395610600_ref017","article-title":"Collaborative cybersecurity learning: establishing educator and learner expectations","volume-title":"Information Security Education - 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