"Companies need people who can DO privacy," says Lauren Reid, Founder of The Privacy Pro. "Our consulting clients are telling us that their number one challenge is hiring privacy talent who can hit the ground running. Hundreds of people earn a privacy certification a year, but they don't have the practical skills to do the work. That's why we created The Privacy Pro Academy."

Until now, privacy education has focused on principles over practice. Experiential learning opportunities were missing, so learners were not trained to apply their knowledge to business settings.

The Privacy Pro Academy fills the gaps by putting privacy knowledge into practice and teaches privacy professionals how to do privacy with workshops focused on day-to-day operational privacy work featuring experienced, world-class privacy leaders. Academy courses provide in-depth, practical training with in-class case studies utilizing client-tested methodology, tools, and templates, which are critical to succeed in today's complex privacy landscape.

Learners who complete The Privacy Pro Academy courses can demonstrate hands-on experience. More experienced professionals can sharpen their skills with expert guidance and feedback and pass that knowledge to their teams.

The first offering is a workshop on privacy impact assessments (PIAs), during which privacy professionals will work through a PIA step by step using a proprietary methodology and template. It will cover when to complete a PIA, differences between PIAs in different sectors, and common mistakes when completing one.

On-demand training on several essential privacy topics will be available this spring.