The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is seeking partners in the business community to support the training and professional development of Privacy Officers.

In addition to knowledge, experience is a critical component to help professionals build their skills. Increasingly, professional development and training programs include a practical experience component as part of their curriculum.

For example, recently TLC Group announced a Bermuda-based privacy officer curriculum that includes various forms of guided work experience, overseen by their teachers and professionals.

My office would like to support these efforts by assembling a diverse and interesting cohort of businesses with whom student Privacy Officers can collaborate.

While organisations with little privacy experience will certainly benefit from having an initial privacy assessment, I also encourage organisations with well-established privacy programs to volunteer, as you have valuable, practical lessons to share with the students undertaking mock exercises.

These collaborations will benefit everyone involved:

• Professionals gain hands-on experience with real-world privacy issues;

• Businesses receive a (potentially free) form of privacy assessment to help them understand their issues in a less formal setting;

• The community at large will benefit as more individuals and businesses understand privacy issues and risks.

I have spoken in the past about privacy being a "boom" industry. Especially now, there are tremendous opportunities for Bermuda and Bermudians to leverage our Mid-Atlantic position to lift the island's industries and workers. Skills learned and privacy programs developed in Bermuda will be compatible with jurisdictions on both sides of the Atlantic, and will present opportunities for growth and advancement for all involved.

If your business would be interested in participating in a Privacy Work Experience program, please send the relevant business contact information to PrivCom@privacy.bm with the subject line "Privacy Work Experience."

Information sent to my office in this way will be shared with training providers who undertake these programs, and it will also be retained by the office as a general point of contact for the future.

Thank you for your interest in supporting both local professionals and Bermudians' rights.

Alexander McD White

Privacy Commissioner

To reach out to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, please visit our Contact Us page.