Privacy

ECDL to make data protection training available to over 1m people by 2017

Life
Image: IDGNS

26 January 2015

The ECDL Foundation has officially endorsed an ICS Skills-developed Data Protection Essentials module for delivery as part of ECDL certification in Ireland.

To celebrate this milestone, ICS Skills is offering the e-learning version of the module free of charge to 1 million Irish ECDL students present and past until 2017.

To date, 750,000 people in Ireland and over 13 million worldwide have participated in courses to attain the European Computer Driver Licence.

Damien O’Sullivan, CEO ECDL Foundation, said: “Safe and proficient use of technology in the workplace demands that everyone to understand how to protect the privacy of customers and employees.”

Jim Friars, CEO, The Irish Computer Society/ICS Skills, added: “ICS Skills has been driving privacy awareness, education and best practice for the past number of years. Sometimes it has been a struggle. By making this training available now, we are saying to employers and educators, that they can no longer make excuses for not adequately training their staff in data protection.”

Speaking ahead of the 7th Annual Data Protection Conference this week at Dublin Castle, Fintan Swanton, Chair of the Association of Data Protection Officers, said: “As numerous surveys have shown the biggest threats to privacy are inadvertent breaches by people who are either careless or do not understand their responsibilities.

“It is no longer ok that you give your staff a one-hour briefing on personal data protection. That is simply not sufficient in any organisation handling substantial quantities of data.

“We need to make this available now and work with our partners to ensure its take-up. When radical new legislation with significantly increased penalties comes in to force in a couple of years, we want Ireland to have a workforce that has the highest standards of data protection understanding.”

TechCentral Reporters

Read More:


Back to Top ↑

TechCentral.ie