The government handles many sensitive and confidential data. It’s vital for citizens and businesses to trust that these are managed carefully. As part of the I-Strategy, it has been mandated that all Central Government employees undergo a compulsory basic training in digital resilience. This policy has now been established.
This requirement extends beyond just internal staff to include temporary workers, external staff, business partner employees, interns, trainees, and volunteers.
Staff with sufficient knowledge and skills in cybersecurity and privacy are crucial for the digital resilience of the Central Government. They also contribute to the trust that the Central Government handles citizen and business data with care and provides reliable services.
The rules
The policy, established by the Director-General for Digitalisation and Government Organisation Eva Heijblom, outlines the framework within which the compulsory basic training should occur:
- A basic training is provided for everyone.
- The basic training enhances the digital resilience of employees.
- A common reference framework is applied.
- Employees are responsible for completing the training annually.
- A PDCA cycle is implemented for both the questionnaire and the policy.
Support
Departments and their subdivisions are responsible for implementing the policy. Central support is provided with a government-wide representation. A reference set of questions and answers will be available by mid-2024 for all organisations. Additionally, an e-learning course will be accessible through the Learning Management Systems (LMS) of the organisations and via the platform of RADIO (the Government Academy for Digitalisation and Information Government or in Dutch, RijksAcademie voor Digitalisering en Informatisering Overheid) after the summer.
The compulsory basic training is a part of the Digital Resilience Roadmap, the second theme of the Central Government’s I-Strategy. The policy framework was developed by the CIO Rijk, in collaboration with a government-wide working group. The CISO Council, BVA Council, CPO Council, CIO Council, the Interdepartmental Commission on Organisation and Personnel Policy (Interdepartmentale Commissie Organisatie- en Personeelsbeleid or ICOP), the Interdepartmental Committee on the Operation of Government Agencies (Interdepartementale Commissie Bedrijfsvoering Rijksdienst or ICBR), and the Central Government Works Council (Groepsondernemingsraad Rijk or GOR Rijk) also contributed to its formulation.
If you have any questions about this topic, please email CISORijk@minbzk.nl.
