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Digital Learning & Compliance

Importance of data protection eLearning

With increased cybersecurity threats, digital transformation and growing privacy concerns, the need for data protection in 2023 is more critical than ever. Protecting personal information, preventing identity theft and ensuring business compliance are all major pillars which can’t be ignored.

Despite this being the case, some view Data Protection as merely a tick-box exercise which can make providing valuable learning on the subject a tricky task. Pairing this with often jargon-heavy and complex information means that a topic which should be simple can instead be considered complicated and convoluted.

Learning Courses Training Content and eLearning Learning Management System Cyber Security

Posted 07/03/2023

We’ve decided to bring UK Data Protection in line with the expectations of the modern learner.

According to a LinkedIN workplace learning report, 49% of employees don’t have the time to spare on learning, meaning the need for more bite-sized learning is clear. We’ve addressed this by ensuring our course takes no longer then 15-minutes to complete. We’ve also designed our content so it can be completed on almost any device.

What’s changed?

In January 2020, the UK left the European Union and is therefore considered a “third country” (for example, outside the EU) under the EU GDPR.

The UK Data Protection Act 2018 is our implementation of GDPR and contains almost identical requirements as the EU legislation, we refer to this as the UK GDPR. Along with that came a joint agreement between the UK and the EU which means data can continue to flow freely. However, this does not mean that the EU GDPR no longer applies to the UK, it affects companies worldwide that may handle data belonging to EU data subjects. A data subject is anyone that can be identified from the personal data collected.

This gave us a great reason to not only update our current Data Protection content, but to redesign it from the ground up.

Covering the basics

Within our 15-minute microlearning course you’ll get the key information required to become Data Protection compliant.

You’ll cover:

  • An introduction to UK Data Protection
  • The 7 Principles that make up UK Data Protection
  • Processing and Personal Data
  • Individual Rights
  • Data Protection and Records
  • Right to Object & Be Forgotten

What is the penalty for UK Data Protection Act Breaches?

There is a maximum fine for data protection breaches which is set at 4% of the annual turnover of an organisation. Now, we’re not saying if you don’t complete our learning module this will happen to you, but is it worth the risk?

The UK Data Protection Act fines are some of the toughest in the world. It’s something you can’t just ignore. If you’re not up-to-date with the Act you may find yourself on the wrong end of the law. 

In 2021 over £44 million worth of fines were given out across the UK alone. A UK airline was fined a record £20 million in 2019 for failing to protect personal and financial details of more than 400,000 customers.

So, what did we do?

We knew we wanted to make this learning engaging and memorable, so we put our heads together and decided on a ‘day in the life’ style video. You’ll follow our main character Senita through her working day. Unfortunately, Senita finds herself in situations that constitute a data breach, as well as causing some herself.

We wanted to take the video even further, so we included an ‘in scene narrator’. You’ve most probably completed e-learning that includes a voice over or narrative script. We decided to bring that narrator to life and have them visually in scene, but invisible to Senita, creating a unique twist that really brings the subject to life.

After reviewing everything with our credible subject matter expert (SME) they were extremely excited about the concept as well as the content. We like to make sure we don’t just assume our content is correct and work very closely with our SME’s to sign off on all aspects of the design process.

According to the University of Washington, research has demonstrated that engaging digital training increases focus, motivates and promotes meaningful learning experiences. We designed this module with that in mind and to appeal to all learning styles. We didn’t stop there though, we’ve added in a pre-course assessment which will allow the user to discover their learning gaps, rather than sitting through information they already know. This personalised learning experience values our audiences’ time and tailors their learning journey appropriately. 

Until next time

It’s no secret that data protection will need to continually evolve and adapt in line with advances to technology. We hope this bite-size course gives you a better understanding of the topic and provides the tools you need to navigate data protection correctly and ethically.

Learn more about our Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility courses.