We at GENERATIONS did our pilot training course on Information Security last week. All trainees agree the training was well worth it! We think we made learning easy, effective, engaging, and productive and realized there are so much more benefits than expected.
Our attendees were mostly IS trainers and SMEs – owners and staff that run companies – decision makers for IT security, employees with basic IT skills, responsible for the data protection in their companies, managing directors, IT managers, department heads, sales managers, thus interested and motivated to become acquainted with the specific branch – Information Security for SMEs.
During the recruitment procedure our trainees discussed their new business challenges, defining distinct commercial activities that are developing, such as: e-Banking, e-Engineering, e-Franchise, e-Tourism, e-Gambling, e-Education, e-Stock-trading, e-Offshore banking, e-Services, etc., as well as e-Commerce. They indicated that in Bulgaria the prevailing number of SMEs still develop survival strategies. There are considerable omissions in management due to insufficient knowledge of insecure investments, because there is no structured, risk based approach to information security. The majority of the SMEs haven’t undertaken the steps necessary with view to get security embedded in the value chain because of insufficient awareness and lacking support.
It helped us to motivate SMEs to participate. In order to provide them with updated knowledge on Information Security we discussed the training scenario and compared it with the experience and potentials of the trainees, and coordinated steps for practical implementation. Particular importance was attached to creating a network among the trainees and to learning from each other both during the training and afterwards. As a result – we have the feedback, we have prepared a modern, up-to-date IS training in line with market needs for Information Security professional in SMEs.
Within the project we transferred the blended learning scenario from our Austrian and Italian partners, based on e-learning platform developed, curriculum and set of learning materials, tailored for IS professionals which responds to the needs and requirements of Information Security workers employed in SMEs.
It was also a possibility for our Association to transfer from our Polish project leading partner the Vocational Certification System which is dedicated to vocational education and postgraduate trainings and certifies competences of both trainers and trainees. The training course was prepared in accordance with standards of Vocational Competence Certificate. Our trainees will be granted a VCC certificate, which will verify and certify his/her competences in Information Security.
After getting acquainted with all the materials at the platform 5 trainers and 24 trainees passed the VCC exams online on IS-VCC platform.
This training scenario we successfully tested extended our portfolio and was integrated with broader range of the training services we offer.
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits is the appreciation that one can be learning all the time, even if you are not in a formal training program. But the big rationale behind what we did was to meet the demand for such IS knowledge tailored to the needs especially of SMEs/MEs.