ContinuitySA launches SA's first Complete Continuity Practitioners programme

ContinuitySA has announced another South African first. Following the success of its introductory training programme on business continuity management, the company has responded to the need for more specialised training by launching a new training programme under the Complete Continuity brand.

“We have built on our original training programme, focusing on the requirements of different types of customers,” says Louise Theunissen, GM of consulting services at ContinuitySA. “The two-day Complete Continuity Programme is designed to include all aspects of business continuity, providing an overview for those looking for an understanding of the issues involved in business continuity management.

“The Complete Continuity Practitioners Programme, on the other hand, is a five-day training programme designed for those requiring a more in-depth, hands-on approach.”

The Complete Continuity Practitioners Programme is an intensive and comprehensive programme designed to include all the aspects of business continuity management required by managers and business practitioners responsible for the implementation and maintenance of an effective continuity programme. The training programme supports the theory taught with practical exercises to provide insight into the realities of designing and implementing continuity programmes in the real world.

The training programmes are designed in accordance with the globally acknowledged British standard methodology for business continuity management, BS25999. Basing the training programmes on this acknowledged standard ensures that attendees are exposed to the latest, certified practices and methodologies in the field. Moreover, as opposed to traditional training programmes in which facilitators deliver the training programme, all the trainers are practising business continuity consultants employed by ContinuitySA.

Not only will attendees be led by people with experience in the field they are teaching, the training programme facilitators have all also been accredited as members or fellows at the British Business Continuity Institute (BCI). In each case, this accreditation is only given to people who have been successfully putting the best practices defined in the BCI Good Practice Guidelines into practice for a certain number of years.

“The last decade has seen a wealth of information on business continuity management becoming available and standards have been published and accepted,” says Theunissen. “However, standards provide for best practice and serve as benchmarks, providing the criteria upon which measurement is based, but are not designed to provide the practical knowledge and sound understanding of the intricacies in successfully initiating, implementing and maintaining an effective business continuity management programme.

“ContinuitySA has bridged this gap with its locally developed Complete Continuity training programmes. Attendees will be exposed to best practices tempered by practical exercises, delivered by experienced experts, which they can take back and immediately apply in their own business environments.”

The next Complete Continuity Practitioners Programme (five days) will be held on Monday from 4 to 8 May 2009 while the Complete Continuity Programme (two days) is scheduled for the 1 and 2 June 2009. For more information or bookings, please contact Lynette Smit on +27 11 5548000 or lynette.smit@continuitysa.co.za.