Some come to it early in life (because of a family member’s career, or school experiences) whereas others find it later in life, often by being involved in a crisis or they stumble on it from another department. Many now in their mid- to late careers became involved in business continuity from disaster recovery, such as by preparing for fallout for the Y2K bug before turn of the year 2000. That’s according to the latest Business Continuity Institute (BCI) report on careers in resilience.
Many do volunteer work, such as help business continuity planning for charities or small organisations, the BCI’s survey found. While the practical skills required for managing resilience favour a more vocational entry to the industry, all show a desire to learn, whether that be through studying up to doctorate level at university, or achieving industry qualifications, according to the BCI. An apparent paradox is that while professionals have a passionate interest in what they work at, those profiled also have rounded interests outside work which typically help them in their role.
The report by BCI staffer Rachael Elliott begins by noting that business continuity (BC) as a defined task is younger than risk or crisis management, or corporate security; BC dates from IT, in the 1970s, and the BCI itself was set up in 1994. Lately, thanks to covid in particular, resilience has taken a wider remit, uses tech more and has more of the ear of the board, according to the report. The sector has no single ‘correct’ entry. Managers in the United States, Western Australia, India and Abu Dhabi are profiled.
The report states: “the attributes of a modern BC or resilience manager centre around collaboration, interaction, forward-thinking mindsets, and creativity. This has resulted in BC and resilience professionals entering the industry from a variety of backgrounds: some enter the industry straight from university with degrees in subjects such as crisis management, others are school leavers who join the profession through apprentice schemes, some are IT professionals who have moved into a BC role, while others have crossed into the department from elsewhere”.
To read the report you should register with the BCI – which needn’t cost you. Visit https://www.thebci.org/news/bci-a-career-in-resilience-report-now-available.html.
September is Education Month at the BCI – this week covering training and career development; more at the BCI website.
