Cybersecurity Certification for Professional Training: An Overview

The cybersecurity industry faces a significant skills gap, with a shortage of qualified professionals to meet the growing demand for cyber talent. Although there is a wide variety of cybersecurity professional trainings available, these trainings use different approaches and the certificates obtained are not compatible with each other. Contrary to the United States, there is no European Authority responsible for approving these trainings. The situation becomes even more complex when considering sector-specific trainings. This paper sheds light on the certification landscape regarding relevant, organisations and bodies at the international and European level. The standards, the criteria, and the processes regarding professional certifications are discussed. The manuscript concludes with a proposal of a sector-agnostic schema for a cybersecurity professional training programme.