Act Now is pleased to announce the launch of its course programme for the first quarter of 2021. For the moment, until we return to “normality”, all our courses will be delivered in an online learning environment (using Microsoft Teams) and have been redesigned to ensure that they are interactive, engaging and fun.
Along with favourites such as GDPR and FOI AZ, we have added some new courses to help Data Protection Officers develop their skills and knowledge. The first of these is ran in November (“How to be a Data Protection Officer” with Kirsty Squires), and was fully booked. Delegates commentated on how much they valued learning from a practicing Data Protection Officer:
“This was exactly the learning that I’ve been looking for pretty much since doing the Practitioner course a 3 years ago. You’ve given me a lot of food for thought about how Sureserve Group handles its DPA obligations and, while these might not necessarily lie with me (or at least solely with me) in the future, you’ve helped me create a more structured idea of how we might do things ‘properly’ and also how to put as much ‘right’ as I can at the moment.”
More dates for this course have added in 2021.
For those wishing to keep up to date with GDPR developments our online GDPR update workshop is a must. Our most popular certificate course, the GDPR Practitioner Certificate, is going from strength to strength. The last ten of these courses have been fully booked and delegates have given us excellent feedback:
“A highly informative and interactive course which helped to join the dots together and add layers to my understanding of a complex area. I had some reservations as to how it would be possible to achieve an effective course remotely and would it be as engaging as a classroom based alternative. Frank managed all this and more, he was approachable, highly knowledgeable and made sure the participants were understanding the content.
I would not hesitate to recommend to colleagues.” SW, Harrogate Borough Council
“Really enjoyed the online course and felt that I received the same knowledge without the need to leave my house!” GB, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
“Excellent course, very informative and well organised, with useful practical exercises that complimented the presentations and helped to cement the learning.” JB, Cambridgeshire County Council
New Advanced Certificate in GDPR Practice
For those who have completed the GDPR certificate, our Advanced Certificate in GDPR Practice has just been launched. This new course consists of a series of challenging masterclasses in which delegates will analyse and evaluate thought-provoking case studies designed to help them deconstruct and interpret complex GDPR issues. This will help them gain a deeper understanding of the GDPR and further their ability to navigate the legislation and its application.
The course is set over three days; approximately one masterclass per month and will take a total of 12 weeks to complete. A practical project is required to be submitted at the end of the course. There are only two places left on the first course so please apply early. Click here for more information.
Cyber Security
In the space of a month the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued three Monetary Penalty Notices (aka fines). All related to breaches of GDPR’s security requirements as set out in Article 5 and 32. The latest requires Ticketmaster to pay £1.25m following a cyber-attack on its website which compromised millions of customers’ personal information. The ICO has also fined Marriott International Inc for a cyber security breach which saw the personal details of millions of hotel guests being accessed by hackers. This followed a fine for British Airways also for a cyber breach.
You can read more about the causes of such breaches in our recent blog post.
Our new Introduction to Cyber Security Management will introduce you to the main concepts of cyber security, the benefits of good cyber security management and how risk management is used as a means of determining priorities for action.
Surveillance
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen an increased focus on surveillance especially by public authorities. Whether you are worried about employee surveillance or the use of drones we have a course for you. Alongside our regular RIPA workshop we have added a course on Surveillance Cameras, Drones and the Law. Look out for the launch of RIPA Essentials, our new e learning course.
FOI Certificate
In July we launched our online FOI Practitioner Certificate. This new course has been designed to mirror our classroom based course that was running successfully throughout the country before the lockdown. It has been really well received with most courses being fully booked.
“Very useful course – really enjoyed it and didn’t find the online format any barrier at all to learning. The technology enables us to interact with the speaker and other delegates as if we were all meeting in person, and I found having 2 days a week for a fortnight (rather than 1 day a week over a month) helped keep the momentum of the course going and consolidated my learning.” AH, Invicta Law
In 2021 we will be delivering an improved version of the FOI certificate with even more case studies and exercises.
In House Training
Finally don’t forget that all our courses can be delivered on an In-house basis and customised to meet the training needs of your staff. We have delivered such training to a number of councils, NHS Trusts, a regulator and even a foreign government. Feel free to get in touch to discuss your in house training needs.
