Abstract:

A skills framework defines competencies across different sectors, supports skills management, and includes both technical and soft skills. In the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, one of the most globally adopted frameworks is the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). It defines the knowledge, skills and behaviours required across the digital workforce at different responsibility levels and provides an ICT skills profile that education providers can use to align curriculum with industry needs. Recently there has been a push in New Zealand from policy makers and educational providers to embed SFIA framework into curriculum design and delivery. The aim is to assist education providers and employers to align their efforts in addressing the technical skills gap in the New Zealand job market.

Unitec, an Auckland based vocational education provider, offers the New Zealand Diploma in Cybersecurity (Level 6), a one-year, 120-credits programme designed in response to industry's needs. To strengthen industry connections and applied learning, the programme includes an internship, embedded in the year-long cybersecurity project course. During the internship, learners need to complete a minimum of 80 hours of work-based training with an industry in any area of cybersecurity, gaining practical experience while applying the knowledge and skills developed in other courses.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the internship component of the cybersecurity project course against the SFIA framework for information and cybersecurity, which consists of six categories with several subcategories of professional skills at different levels. Focusing on SFIA version 9, this study will be mapping the design and delivery of the internship, as well as skills gained by the learners, to the appropriate SFIA skill levels in cybersecurity. Since the Cybersecurity Diploma is level 6 academically and the internship prepares graduates for entry-levels jobs, not all SFIA skills and levels can be fully mapped to the internship components. To illustrate the mapping of topics and levels, the skill “Incident management” in the “Delivery and Operation” category of SFIA cybersecurity framework spans levels from 1 to 6. Tasks completed during internship can be mapped to activities from levels 1 to 4 of the incident management skill, while levels 5 and 6 exceed the entry-level scope of the internship.

Data collected from graduates between 2021-2024 are analysed to provide supporting evidence. The evaluation identifies the strengths and gaps in the design and delivery of internships. Graduates reported increased confidence and readiness for entry level roles, highlighting the value of authentic real-world experiences that expose learners to cybersecurity frameworks, technical tools and workplace practices, supported by technical projects, and real-world soft skills development. However, the evaluations also identified gaps, including challenges in securing internships for all learners enrolled and the need for greater emphasis on laboratories, project management frameworks, incident handling processes, and real-world tools.

Keywords:

Internship, SFIA framework, Skills mapping, Cybersecurity.