Nearly 60% of marketers have had no GDPR training

The GDPR juggernaut may be well on the road to the May 25 D-Day, but one issue seems to be stuck in the slow lane, with a new study revealing that nearly three-fifths (59%) of marketers have yet to have a single minute of training over the new regulation.
The study, carried out by the IDM, also shows that only half of organisations have appointed a data protection officer, although this should be tempered by the fact that not all businesses will be required to.
Even so, the IDM is, perhaps unsurprisingly, using the research to flag up the launch of its new professional certificate for DPOs, which accompanies its suite of other training available for marketers of all levels.
The new course, developed with the DMA, is aimed to help those who aspire to the role of DPO as well as those who need to understand why and how they should recruit a DPO for their organisation. For a limited time the IDM is also offering an additional ‘Day with an Expert’ free of charge to delegates studying the new online certificate.
IDM managing director Jane Cave said: “When the GDPR comes into force, it will change the marketing landscape in a way not seen before. Beyond the threat of financial sanctions, the new laws offer businesses a unique opportunity to change the relationship with customers around their data. As such, it’s of the utmost importance that organisations are prepared for these changes, either through upskilling their own employees or ensuring a fully qualified DPO is able to guide them through it.”
According to the research, nearly 60% of respondents answered ‘no’ when asked if they had any training relating to GDPR. However, when asked, people were more likely to rate their own awareness of the laws (77%) and sense of preparedness (74%) as higher than that of their organisations (58%).
Cave continued: “We have seen that as time goes on, and the GDPR creeps closer, more people are feeling affected than ever before. What is also interesting, is that we are seeing this widening gap between an individual’s own sense of preparedness, compared to how prepared they perceive their business to be. It’s in all our best interests to help business prepare for this shift, and employees who are directly accountable for data protection are key to this.
“Following completion of the course, attendees can expect to leave with a solid working knowledge of the practical implications of the GDPR and ePrivacy Regulation. It’s an iron-clad way to ensure companies are fully prepared to deal with a wide range of data protection and privacy challenges and have the confidence to operate in this new compliance landscape,” Cave claimed.