When you get it wrong, the signs are painfully clear, but the reasons may not always be obvious.  Making that all-important connection with your learners does not happen by accident. When you are putting together any security training program – from general awareness training to specific certification training solutions, you need to make it not only interesting but also RELEVANT.

If the learner already has knowledge on security topics/issues, why do they then need additional training on the areas they already understand?  The mistake often made is that content is developed from the assumption that the learner knows very little and therefore needs to drink from the proverbial “fire hose”.  This does not have to be the case.  Constructing a well thought out quiz delivered prior to content or training to be developed or delivered can eliminate repetitive, boring content that has already been adopted by the learner.  A quiz can act as a baseline, identifying gaps in the overall knowledge of the learners.  Focus can then be spent on either developing content in the areas of weakness or looking for supplemental online content or reinforcement tools to address the gap.  The quiz can then be run again after the training to determine whether or not the learning content was absorbed.  If we can address the knowledge gaps effectively, we can begin to deal with the critical cybersecurity skills gap we are now being confronted with in North America.