The Ministry of Economy and Finance has informed the Governing Council of the approval of €1,023,419.88 to contract the services of design, dissemination, selection, management, and execution of a cybersecurity training program, within the framework of the Red Argos project (RETECH Program), funded by the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
Governing Council of May 22, 2025
Castile and León | Ministry of Economy and Finance
The Castile and León Regional Government has approved the hiring of a specialized company to carry out this program, which will be funded by the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan for a total of €1,023,419. This budget will be distributed in two annual installments: €307,025 in 2025 and €716,393 in 2026.
The program involves training 200 students—both employed and unemployed—through four sessions, each with 200 hours of training in a blended format. This flexible and modular approach seeks the gradual acquisition of skills, adapting to the real cybersecurity needs of regional companies and aligning with reference frameworks such as ENISA and the National Cybersecurity Forum.
The main objective of this program is to boost or improve employability, acting as a key lever for retaining cybersecurity talent in Castile and León. This is a fundamental action to achieve the objectives of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, and is part of the “Digital Connectivity, Boosting Cybersecurity, and 5G Deployment” component, within the “Cybersecurity: Strengthening the Capacities of Citizens, SMEs, and Professionals; and Boosting the Sector’s Ecosystem” investment.
The contract will start on April 1, 2025, or from the date of formalization if later, and will end on March 31, 2026.
ARGOS NETWORK
The RED ARGOS project is a network of specialized cybersecurity nodes, coordinated by the Institute for Business Competitiveness (ICECYL), with the participation of the autonomous communities of Castile and León, Andalusia, and the Basque Country. Its main objective is to contribute to strengthening the national cybersecurity ecosystem and achieve international leadership in this field.
ICECYL offers companies in Castile and León funding for cybersecurity R&D&I projects, training programs, and specialization courses in strategic sectors, as well as an entrepreneurship and acceleration program with access to networking, mentoring, support for internationalization, and technology transfer. Furthermore, it promotes inter-territorial collaboration to ensure territorial balance and cohesion.
The RED ARGOS project is aligned with the Spain Digital Agenda 2026 and the European Union Cybersecurity Strategy.
RETECH Cybersecurity Program
The RETECH Cybersecurity program is a strategic initiative for the development of the cybersecurity ecosystem—capabilities, industry, R&D, and talent—that brings together 15 autonomous communities and has an initial budget of €149 million. It also represents a model of collaboration between the autonomous communities and INCIBE for the development of cybersecurity in strategic productive sectors.
This initiative responds to the project proposals submitted by the autonomous communities to promote ten lines of action: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other enabling digital technologies applied to industry, digital twins, digital health, FashionTech, GreenTech, digital entrepreneurship networks, technology with social impact, and RuralTech.