Cognitive processes, including understanding, thinking, and interpretation, are necessary to influence safe behaviour in cyberspace. However, among Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) youth, educational focus prioritises technical skills development over cognitive and digital skills. Furthermore, systematic and coherent approaches are lacking to provide students with consistent, quality learning experiences that enhance their understanding of cyber ethics. The research model integrates the cognitive appraisal components based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) with three social learning strategies: cyber ethical digital games, lecturer reminders, and motivational impact of achievement certificates, to understand TVET youth ethical decision-making in cyberspace refers to PAPA model (privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility). The research employed a quantitative approach using a survey method with questionnaire instruments for data collection, with a random sample of 340 respondents selected from six community colleges around Selangor. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis through SmartPLS version 4 software was used to analyse hypotheses and validate the developed model. Hypothesis testing revealed that 12 out of 14 hypotheses were significant, with Perceived Severity (PS), Self-Efficacy (SE), and Response Efficacy (RE) suggesting relationships in TVET youth’s cyber ethical behaviour. The three social learning strategies also demonstrated significant relationships with cyber threats’ appraisal and response processes. The developed Cyber Ethical Behavioural (CEB) model enhances the understanding of TVET youth’s cyber ethical behaviour and promotes the coordination of cyber ethics knowledge enhancement in TVET institutional environments, aligning with new technological developments such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
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