Act Now Training is pleased to report that it has completed a very successful first year of delivering the Practitioner Certificate in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Four courses were delivered in 2013 with very strong candidates from a variety of backgrounds:
The overall pass rate was 94% with over a third of delegates obtaining a distinction (over 80%). 72% of delegates scored above 65% in the final assessment. The delegate feedback has been extremely positive. All said they enjoyed the course and felt that they would be able to apply the skills learnt on the course in the workplace to improve their efficiency in dealing with FOISA requests. (Read a successful candidate’s observations here.)
Commenting on the first year of delivering the course, Tim Turner said:
“I’ve enjoyed writing and delivering this course. The results have been encouraging and also demonstrate clearly the high level of expertise in Scottish Public bodies. I am also pleased that the course project element has enabled individuals to achieve very high marks and well deserved distinctions. I think that this style of qualification is better suited to the way of working within Scottish Public Bodies managing Freedom of Information.”
More of Tim’s views on the course can be read here.
The course is endorsed by the Centre for FOI based at Dundee University. The Chair of the independent Exam Board , Professor Kevin Dunion (formerly the Scottish Information Commissioner and now the Executive Director of the Centre for FOI) says in the course review report:
“I’m pleased to be able to participate in the review of the first year of this groundbreaking new course designed for Scottish FOI practitioners. Having reviewed the syllabus, the examination process and the first year’s results I am happy to continue to endorse Act Now’s Practitioner Certificate in FOISA for another year. The quality of the delegates, as evidenced by the high grades, augurs well for FOI in Scotland. In particular, I am pleased at Act Now’s initiative to include practical elements in the course. This clearly provides direct benefits for public authorities, by improving the ability of practitioners to deal with complex information requests.”
With more bodies being made subject to FOISA on 1st April 2014, we are confident that the Act Now Practitioner Certificate in FOISA will soon become the qualification of choice for FOISA professionals in Scotland.
Our next course is in May in Edinburgh. Interested? Have a go at the FOISA test.
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