Behind the scenes at ICS: Claudia Delaney, head of Training and Certification
Many of you will know Claudia Delaney, our Head of Training and Certification, who has been with ICS for over 18 years. We’ve spoken to Claudia about her vision for supporting your professional development.
Claudia started at ICS as ECDL Accreditation Coordinator. She honed her skills as a learning and development professional while looking after the IT skills needs of hundreds of schools and companies across Ireland.
With this unique insight into Ireland’s skill requirements, Claudia took over the Training department in early 2018. Her vision is for all IT professionals across Ireland to upskill to drive up standards in IT, deliver better business value to their employers and to improve their own career prospects.
Our focus as an organisation has always been on IT professionals. That term has become substantially broader in recent years. We often hear that there are only two roles that don’t require IT skills. So what does that make IT professionals? Are they coders and programmers, or marketers with web editing skills? Or are we all IT professionals? As providers of professional training, this challenge is one we want to address.
“The omnipresence of technology in our lives and workplaces means that we all need to keep our skills up to date. Technologies are constantly evolving and, while they are improving our workflows in many ways, inefficiencies can crop up if staff are left behind with out-of-date or insufficient training,” said Claudia.
“My focus as Head of Training and Certification is on the importance of all staff upskilling. There are many different ways to upskill, and all are important. We should be taking some time every week to refresh our skills by reading an article online or streaming a webinar, for example. However, formal training cannot be underestimated as one of the four essential pillars of CPD. Taking that time out of your working week, and often stepping away from the office to focus on a new skill, or improving your understanding of something you already do, is invaluable.
“I would say the skills to focus on at the moment are definitely in data protection. And this counts for all staff, everyone should play a part. 25 May 2018 was just the beginning for GDPR, and all staff who haven’t yet been trained in the latest data protection standards should be. We have specially developed courses from half-day basic coverage to a fully certified Data Protection Officer training course. There’s something for everyone.”
Claudia believes that it is advantageous from a business perspective to upskill all staff. The so-called “digital fallacy” is something we are always trying to debunk. Young people, and their parents and managers, underestimate what skills they need for supposedly “non-IT” roles, and fall short at the first hurdle. The fact is that now, every role has elements of IT, so a commitment to professional development in IT is less of an option than a requirement.
“We also offer unique training in leadership and management skills,” said Claudia, “to upskill the next generation of IT leaders. Our bespoke training courses have been developed to empower anyone with the potential to lead a modern, agile team and offer them quality leadership and guidance.”
To contact Claudia about your training requirements, contact her by email at claudia@ics.ie or by phone on (01) 23 777 08.
ICS Member Events
2019 has already been a busy year for member events. From the 11th National Data Protection Conference in January, our member events have ranged from Women in IT Leadership to Universal Design in IT, to Digital Transformation. Our most recent event, a webinar on Microsoft Licensing Hot Topics, is available to view for members in the members’ area of www.ics.ie
We’ve got plans for more free member events throughout the year. The series of webinars on IT Asset Management will continue and we will have events on Blockchain and business analysis too.
As we mark one year on from the introduction of GDPR, we’ll be hosting events in May looking at how the landscape around data protection has changed.
The Iasa Ireland IT Architects conference will take place on 14 June, and this year’s topic is ‘digital diversity and transformation’.
Keep an eye on www.ics.ie/events to register your place on any of our member events. Not a member? Join at www.ics.ie/member to gain access to these events and much more.
Upcoming courses:
Certified Data Protection Practitioner – 15 April – Dublin – €198 off for members
GDPR & Data Protection Essentials – 23 April – Cork – €60 off for members
Blockchain Introductory Workshop – 25 April – Dublin – €151 off for members
CITA-A Solution Architect Course – 29 April – Dublin – €300 off for members
IT Asset Management Foundation Certification – 22 May – Dublin – €165 off for members
European Certified Data Protection Officer Training – 12 June – Dublin – €330 off for members
Events
Annual ICS Fellows’ Luncheon – 17 May – Dublin
GDPR: One year on – 23 May – Dublin – Free for members
GDPR: One year on – 24 May – Cork – Free for members
IT Architects Conference 2019 – 14 June – Dublin – €140 off for members
For more information, or to sign up for any of our training courses, visit www.ics.ie/events or e-mail training@ics.ie.
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