The UK Pathway

Note

These are example areas to prepare in, not the content of any competition. Tasks are confidential, competitions are closed book, and formats change between years. About this site.

In the UK, a Cyber Security competitor moves through five stages, each narrower than the last. Find your stage below, then follow its roadmap.

Stage	What happens	Who takes part	Roadmap
1. Pre-qualifier	A theory test on digital forensics, penetration testing methodology, malware analysis, data security, security legislation and common tools: short answers, multiple choice or a demonstration	Anyone registered through a college or training provider	Regional
2. Regional	A one-day heat in two sessions, on site or remote. It’s a capture-the-flag on pre-built systems: social engineering, vulnerability scanning, web and client exploitation, system hardening and firewall configuration	Pairs who pass the pre-qualifier	Regional
3. National	A two-day final in four sessions: capture the flag (50% of the mark), system and application analysis (25%) and system hardening (25%)	The top ten competitors across the UK	National
4. Squad and team selection	Training managers watch age-eligible finalists and invite the strongest to train in the squad. Team selection then picks who represents Team UK	Invited, age-eligible finalists	Squad and team selection
5. Team UK and internationals	Team UK competes at EuroSkills and the WorldSkills Competition: two-person teams, four competition days, no internet	The selected pair	International

What changes between stages

• Stages 1 to 3 follow the WorldSkills UK format. The national final is half capture the flag, so offensive speed carries the most weight.
• From stage 4 you prepare for the international format. The WSOS 2026 spreads marks across eight sections, and recent competitions have covered all four areas on this site. Hardening, forensics and defence count as much as the CTF.
• Age matters from stage 4. The WorldSkills Competition has an age limit (25 for Cyber Security at Aichi 2028), so training managers look at who will still be eligible. Competitors who aren’t eligible can stay involved through WorldSkills UK’s Champions Programme.

Sources: WorldSkills UK Cyber Security Technical Handbook 2026, WorldSkills UK Cyber Security competition, Meet Squad UK. Formats can change each year.