Book a place on our SME Cyber Consultant Training Program

Course Modules

Not your average Cyber Security course...

Cybersecurity has become a hot topic in recent years and is now a subject that has implications on almost every organisation worldwide. There is a clear skills gap in terms of the number of Cyber Professionals required and the number that are currently available.

There is a growing need for professional individuals to provide competent advice on Cybersecurity, especially within the SME sector.

There is also currently a distinct lack of quality training for Cyber Professionals working with and advising the SME sector. In the UK we have seen that the NCSC have recently launched the Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials) scheme which seeks to provide assurance that individuals are competent to advise Small Businesses on Cyber Security, including what they need to implement in order to meet the UK’s recommended minimum level of Cyber Security (known as Cyber Essentials).

This training program has been developed to equip an individual with the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to provide competent advice to SME’s on Cyber Security.

The key thing to note with this training program is that we are NOT training someone to simply pass the competency assessment such as Cyber Advisor, this course is specifically designed to develop a well-rounded SME Cyber Consultant, as a result of that they should be more than capable to meeting the Cyber Advisor competency requirements or any other similar standard.

The course has been developed from the personal experiences of Chris Blunt CISSP, an IT and Cyber Security professional, who has delivered SME Consultancy services for over 15 years. A Personal Bio of Chris is available on request.

Information Security 101

Duration: 0.5 Day

An introduction to the core fundamentals of Information Security, develop a clear understanding of the CIA triad and the ability to communicate it in a both technical and nontechnical manner. A Brief History of information security, why it’s so relevant right now, where it might go in the future.

Ethics, Professional Standards & CPD

Duration: 0.5 Day

Trust is a key part of being a Cyber Professional, we can often be exposed to sensitive information. We take a look at key ethics and professional standards as well as legalities specific to the work we do. We then look at how we maintain competence, and general CPD expectations for a cyber professional.

Cyber Essentials Requirements Implementation

Duration: 1 Day

An in-depth look in to the latest CE-RITD and the variety of ways to implement the Cyber Essentials controls, Understanding when to implement different controls and why what is suitable for one organisation may not be appropriate for another. A review of some Cyber Essentials Myths.

Consultancy Soft Skills

Duration: 1 Day

What makes a good consultant. We look beyond the knowledge and expertise and more in to the skills that turn a good consultant in to a great one. We’ll look at questioning techniques for gathering information, conducting a gap analysis and how to handle difficult clients. What it means to be sympathetic to an organisations circumstances and how to communicate with a technical and non-technical audience. What to do when you don’t know the answer, calling additional technical input and how to handle being challenged. We’ll also look at what your client REALLY wants from you that no-one else is providing them with effectively.

Beyond Cyber Essentials

Duration: 0.5 Day

Cyber Essentials is an entry level Cyber Security standard, we look at the areas Cyber Essentials does not cover and where to go next. How to professionally explain to your clients the limitations of Cyber Essentials and where they can continue their Cyber Security journey having met the Cyber Essentials standard. Areas covered will include NCSC SME Guidance as well as an overview of other Cyber Security standards such as ISO27001, IASME Cyber Assurance, NIST, NIS2 & The CAF.

Report Writing

Duration: 0.5 Day

Being able to present key information in the written format is a key skill for a competent consultancy. We’ll look at the structure of a good report, what are the key items to consider and how best to present them. We’ll also look at best practises around how we protect and distribute our reports given the nature of some of their content.

Case Study

Duration: 1 Day

We shall finish the course with an end to end case study, implementing the skills we’ve learnt over the previous 4 days. This will be a very practical day with all candidates having the opportunity to put their new skills to use. Following this day the candidates should have confidence to be able to conduct and lead a Cyber Consultancy project.

Consultancy Packaging & Pricing Strategies

Duration: 0.5 Day

Knowing how to effectively package and price consultancy services is a critical part of being able to delivery competently over a sustained period of time. Pricing your services too low means you are unlikely to have the resources to deliver an effective, professional service or keep up to date with the industry. Similarly not being able to justify higher prices can lead to lower sales and the same lack of resources. In this Module we openly share how Blunt Security packages and prices consultancy services to deliver value to the client but still make enough margin to reinvest in ourselves.

Tools of the Trade

Duration: 0.5 Day

From running early versions of this training program a really common question was “So what tool should I use for that”. In this module we’ll break down the different tools out there, what works well in which scenario and what else you might consider.

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Course Info

2026: Cheltenham or Birmingham (TBC), UK

Day 1 to 3: Wed 3rd June to Friday 5th June 2026
Day 4 to 6: Wed 10th June to Fri 12th June 2026

Due to significant growth of our consultancy business we are currently limiting our courses to ONE PER YEAR whilst we focus on this growth!

Q1 2025: Cheltenham, UK Full

Day 1: Fri 21st March 2025
Day 2,3 & 4: Wed 26th to Fri 28th March 2025
Day 5 & 6: Tue 1st April to Wed 2nd April 2025

Q2 2025: Cheltenham, UK

Day 1 & 2: Thu 29th to Fri 30th May 2025
Day 3 & 4: Tue 3rd to Wed 4th Jun 2025
Day 5 & 6: Mon 9th & Tue 10th June 2025

Q3 2025: Cheltenham, UK

Day 1 to 6: Mon 01/09/2025 to Sat 06/09/2024

Q4 2025: La Manga, Spain

Day 1 & 2: Mon 17th to Tue 18th Nov 2025
Day 3 & 4: Thu 20th to Fri 21st Nov 2025
Day 5 & 6: Mon 24th & Tue 25th Nov 2025

UK Only

Venue & Recommended Hotels will be confirmed on Booking.
Lunch & Refreshments included on all training days.
Cohort Dinner Included on the First night (Q1 Dinner will be on 2nd Night)

Spain Only

Accommodation available at additional cost (approx £300 per person for the total stay – detail will be confirmed on booking). Accommodation & Activities will cover 16th to 26th November to allow for Travel

All courses currently full, click the button below to find out about future dates as they are announced!

Don't see a date that suits you? Click the button below to find out about future dates as they are announced!

FAQs

Is there an Exam?

The course itself does not contain an official exam, although we do complete knowledge checks throughout the course to solidify our learning. The Course has been mapped against the NCSC Cyber Advisor standard and should prepare you well for that exam if you wish to take it (Available via The Cyber Scheme). We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks from completing the course before taking any exams to solidify your learning and practise your skills.

Does this qualify as CPD?

You will receive a Certificate for successfully completing the course which will state the equivalent number of learning hours.

Is accommodation included?

No, you’ll need to cover the cost of your own accommodation, we will provide a list of suggested nearby hotels for you to check out and book if appropriate for you. We do included lunch & refreshments every day, and we also include a cohort dinner on the first evening for everyone to get to know each other. You will be well looked after, but you’ll need to book your own hotel!

What time does the course start & finish?

Timings are flexible to suit each course. Timings will be confirmed with venue confirmation, however generally the first day will officially start at 10am to give everyone chance to get settled and meet each other. Start times on subsequent days will be dictated by the preference of the majority on the course, taking in to account everyone’s travel requirements. Each day will generally finish between 5pm to 6pm depending on the learning pace and how in depth our discussions get. This can vary by course, though the main aim is to equip you will all the relevant knowledge and skills and answer all of your questions!

Can I do the course online?

At this time we are not offering an online option. We find the power of this course is the discussion and interaction within the group, we find this is far harder to achieve online. Chris also delivers much better in person than online.

Do all dates for a course need to be attended?

No-one is forcing you to attend every single day, but it is quite fast paced and there are no “catch-up” sessions. It’s your choice if you miss some of the content.

I can’t attend the dates scheduled, are there other dates coming up?

Yes, join the priority list to find out when they are. As a course starts to fill up we’ll start to schedule the next one too.

Don't just take our word for it

As great consultants, these are the reviews we receive...

As temporary works consulting engineers, we play a small but significant part in the construction sector supply chain, critical to the success of major infrastructure projects.

We rely heavily on IT to get the job done and communicate with our clients.

We needed to get our business checked and certified to Cyber Essentials in a VERY short time frame for a major contract.

With the hard work and dedication of Chris & his team we managed to complete the process in just seven days from start to finish, including sending the awarded certificate to our client.

Paul Markham

Director, PDMA Consulting Engineers

We engaged Chris to help us complete our Cyber Security Certification after seeing them present at a trade conference.

His consultants were extremely knowledgeable and conscientiously thorough throughout the process. No stone was left unturned. We have no doubt that we were in good hands, having completed the process we are confident that we are taking all necessary steps to keep our systems and data secure.

Neil Livingstone

Development Director, Minster Computer Systems Ltd

A huge part of our offering as an IT MSP is Cyber Security Provision. Keeping our clients and their staff safe, as well as their own customers and supply chain is crucial to their success.

We have called on Blunt Security time and time again to provide Consultancy Services, Strategy Development and Implementation of Cyber Security Solutions for all our clients, and trust them 100% to provide Impartial and First Class Services at all times.

Blunt Security care deeply about Cyber Security. which means we at brokenStones know that our Clients will experience that same level of care when it comes to their Cyber Security Provision.

Jonathan Miller

Business Development Manager, brokenStones