Business continuity professionals will have the opportunity to participate in an industry-specific e-learning program through an initiative at the U.K.-based Business Continuity Institute (BCI).
The program will begin in August, and it will be available in chapters. Each chapter will be based on the six elements of BCI’s good practice guidelines.
“We are launching e-learning courses, the first training courses developed and offered by BCI,” said Lorraine Darke, BCI membership director. “They are designed to support busy business continuity professionals worldwide by enabling them to expand their knowledge as conveniently as possible.”
Additionally, business continuity professionals will be able to take a certificate examination for the first time through BCI, which sets standards and validates standards regarding professional competence and ethics in business continuity management.
The institute announced the programs at the 17th-annual World Conference on Disaster Management on July 8-11 in Toronto.
The BCI certificate examination is based on the organization’s good practice guidelines, and those business continuity professionals who take it can achieve one of three BCI credential grades: Associate, Specialist or Member.
Darke said the certificate exam was created as a direct response to the evolution of the industry.
“As the business continuity management profession continues to grow in the international arena, it became apparent to BCI that continuing scored assessment as a method of certification would no longer be feasible,” she said.
Further, the increasingly global nature of business continuity prompted the organization to establish a standardized way to evaluate business continuity professionals’ abilities, Darke said.
“The decision was made to introduce an examination for the BCI Certificate, recognizing a professional’s ability to carry out business continuity management to an internationally recognized standard,” she said.
The BCI was created in 1994 to help business continuity professionals seeking guidance and support from their peers. The organization now has more than 4,000 members in more than 85 countries.
