Choosing a resilience certification that fits the role you hold.

That depends on the job you do. If you build or run a continuity programme, DRI BCLE 2000 covers the whole lifecycle in one week and leads to DRI certification as ABCP, CBCP or CFCP. If you prefer weekly online sessions, the BCI CBCI is built that way. If your task is preparing the organisation for ISO 22301 certification, a PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course fits. The role selector at the top of this page matches each role to its course.

Neither is better in general. DRI and the BCI are the two global professional bodies for business continuity. DRI builds on its ten Professional Practices and the BCI on its Good Practice Guidelines, Edition 7.0. The practical difference is format, four teaching days in one week with BCLE 2000 or six weeks of twice weekly online classes with the CBCI, and many practitioners hold both. Resilience Guard delivers DRI courses as DRI's accredited training provider for Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Greece, Cyprus and Scandinavia.

All three are DRI International certifications reached through the BCLE 2000 qualifying examination. Which one you are awarded depends on the experience you document to DRI after you pass. The BCLE 2000 page sets out the course and the examination.

CCRP stands for Certified Cyber Resilience Professional, DRI International's certification for professionals who join cyber security and business continuity. It is reached through DRI CRLE 2000, which Resilience Guard delivers as an accredited DRI provider.

No. A PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course is built around the standard itself and around preparing an organisation for certification against it. BCLE 2000 teaches DRI's ten Professional Practices, which are aligned with ISO 22301, and leads to DRI certification. Matrix 3 sets the two side by side.

ECL, the Executive Crisis Leader certification, is written for board members, executives and crisis team chairs. It covers the duties that NIS2, DORA, the CER Directive and national law place on the management body, and at Expert level it assesses the candidate chairing a live simulation. PECB Certified Lead Crisis Manager suits the people who deliver, implement or advise on an ISO 22361 crisis management capability. Matrix 1 compares them.

It depends on what the board member will do. ECL-F is written for board members and executives and covers the duties that NIS2, DORA, the CER Directive and national law place on the management body. PECB Certified Lead Crisis Manager is written for the people who deliver, implement and advise on a crisis management capability under ISO 22361. A director who will oversee and decide is usually better served by ECL, and one who will design the capability personally by PECB.

CIRP certifies the people who make a critical entity resilient and compliant under NIS2, the CER Directive, KRITIS, the Swiss ISG and DORA. ECL certifies the leaders who run that entity when its resilience is tested for real. The two belong to one family, professional development hours count in both directions, and there are no examination exemptions either way.

Because a credential that does not fit your role costs you a week and teaches you little you will use. If you implement or audit controls as a specialist, a PECB course is built for that work. Saying so is what makes the rest of this page worth trusting.

Yes. NIS2 Article 20(2) requires the members of the management bodies of essential and important entities to follow training, and expects similar training for employees on a regular basis. In Germany the BSI Act makes personal liability explicit. CIRP trains the people who build and run the programme, and ECL trains the leaders who decide in a crisis.

NIS2 does not prescribe a particular course or certificate. It expects the management body to follow training that lets it approve and oversee cybersecurity risk measures and answer for them. CIRP-F gives managers and board secretaries the regulatory picture, CIRP-E covers the accountability that senior leaders carry, and ECL-F takes those duties into the boardroom and the first hours of a crisis. Book a consultation and we will match the level to each person.

DORA Article 5 gives the management body of a financial entity final responsibility for ICT risk and expects its members to keep their knowledge and skills current. Article 11 requires response and recovery plans and a crisis management function. ECL covers both articles for the people who lead the response, and CIRP teaches DORA alongside the other regimes.

Yes. CIRP covers the German BSI Act and the KRITIS regime, and CIRP-E includes personal liability under the BSI Act. Resilience Guard teaches it in English, and Authorised Training Providers can teach it in German or other local languages. ECL covers the KRITIS umbrella act and NIS2 transposition from the leadership side.

Yes. CIRP covers the obligations the ISG places on operators of Swiss critical infrastructure, and ECL builds its 24 hour reporting duty into the crisis team's timetable. Our Swiss ISG briefing explains the law itself.

Yes. CIRP addresses Article 13 of the CER Directive, which asks critical entities to manage employee security, set training requirements and qualifications for staff in critical functions and raise awareness among relevant personnel. The CIRP Workforce Awareness Programme answers the awareness duty for the wider workforce. ECL covers Articles 13 and 15 for the crisis team.

Yes. ECL treats FINMA Circular 2023/1 among the national rules that bear on the crisis duties of supervised firms, together with DORA for entities in the EU.

BCLE 2000 runs for four and a half days, with four full days of instruction from 8.30 to 17.00 and a qualifying examination of two and a half hours on the morning of day five. The pass mark is 75%. It covers all ten DRI Professional Practices and carries 32 CEAPs towards recertification. See the BCLE 2000 page.

No. CRLE 2000 is written for the business continuity professional. It builds the integration between continuity and cyber security across five elements, from prepare and identify to recover, rather than assuming deep technical expertise.

For people new to the discipline that is the natural order, because BCLE 2000 builds the continuity foundation and CRLE 2000 adds the cyber side. Many participants take both. If you already work in continuity or security and want to start with CRLE 2000, ask us and we will advise on your case.

It is DRI's two day IT Disaster Recovery Planning workshop, covering the project plan, risk assessment and business impact analysis for IT, strategy selection, plan development and the newer DR technologies. It carries 16 CEAPs. See the workshop page.

Yes. Resilience Guard is DRI International's exclusive accredited training provider for Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Greece, Cyprus and Scandinavia, and also teaches a global audience. It has trained over 300 professionals across the United States, Asia and the EMEA region. See DRI accredited training.

Yes. BCLE 2000 and CRLE 2000 each carry 32 Continuing Education Activity Points towards DRI recertification, and the BCP IT/DR workshop carries 16.

Not yet. ECL is issued by Resilience Guard Academy, and third party accreditation of both ECL and CIRP is planned within 2027. The ECL examination process is designed on ISO/IEC 17024 principles, so the tutor who teaches a cohort does not mark it and an examination board handles results and appeals. If your employer or regulator asks for a credential from an established certification body, the DRI, BCI and PECB routes on this page are issued by one.

Yes. An ECL-F board scenario is on this page, with its answer and the reasoning behind it. Try it before you book to see how ECL tests judgement rather than recall.

No. ECL-A can be entered directly by attending Day 1 and Day 2. A Foundation holder may instead attend Day 2 only and sit the Advanced examination within 24 months of passing Foundation. Holding ECL-A in date is the only route into ECL-E. See the ECL levels.

ECL-F is examined by a closed book multiple choice paper of one and a half hours and ECL-A by one of two and a half hours, in which most questions open with a short board or executive scenario, and ECL-A adds mini cases. Papers are sat the day after teaching ends, the pass mark is 75% and results are issued within three business days. At ECL-E each candidate chairs the crisis team in a three hour simulation observed by two assessors, then sits a two hour examination, and the certification board assesses a case study, as for CIRP-E.

No. CIRP-E is open only to CIRP-A holders, and ECL-E only to holders of ECL-A in date. Both Expert levels are assessed by a two hour examination and a certification board assessment of a case study, and ECL-E adds the live simulation.

No DRI credential is listed as a requirement for CIRP. CIRP-F is the starting point for managers and assurance staff new to the regulatory landscape. Many professionals hold both, because BCLE 2000 teaches the continuity discipline and CIRP teaches how the European regimes apply to a critical entity.

CIRP learning hours, 16 for Foundation, 24 for Advanced and 32 for Expert, may be self reported under the continuing development schemes of ISC2, ISACA, the BCI and DRI, according to each body's policy. Resilience Guard Academy is not an accredited provider of those bodies, so recognition works through your own reporting. CIRP and ECL hours count towards each other's renewal.

Yes. Training providers can join the CIRP Authorised Training Provider scheme, with standard, master partner, train the trainer and white label arrangements. Express interest through the contact page and the Academy responds within five working days.

Yes. CIRP and ECL mainly run as in house cohorts for a single organisation, live online or at your site anywhere in Switzerland, the EU and the UAE. CIRP in house cohorts need at least six participants and are most cost effective at ten to fifteen. The DRI courses we deliver run publicly and in house.

Yes. The DRI courses are mostly delivered live online, and CIRP and ECL can be taught live online or at your site, with the same content and examinations in both modes. The DRI course dates for the year are published on dri-switzerland.org.

Most DRI courses are taught live online, and in house courses are taught at your site anywhere in Switzerland, the EU and the UAE. Resilience Guard is based in Steinhausen, Canton of Zug. Public DRI course dates are published each year on dri-switzerland.org.

The DRI courses are taught in English, Greek and Arabic, and the DRI qualifying examination is held in English. Resilience Guard teaches CIRP and ECL in English, and Authorised Training Providers can teach both in their local languages. PECB lists the language of each session and exam on its own site.

Yes. Resilience Guard is DRI's accredited training provider for Greece and Cyprus, and the DRI courses can be taught in Greek. ECL also covers Greek Law 5236/2025, which transposes the CER Directive. See DRI accredited training.

Courses are led by senior consultants with active field experience. John Zeppos, founder of Resilience Guard and twice named Business Continuity Manager of the Year at the BCI Global Awards, tutors every DRI course the firm delivers and designed and teaches CIRP and ECL. Reina El Dahr, a DRI accredited trainer who also works on NIS2 delivery and the firm's research programmes, teaches alongside him. Three of the world's four largest professional services networks use the BCLE 2000 and CRLE 2000 programmes he delivers to train their own advisors.

ECL-E cohorts are capped at eight, so two assessors can observe every candidate. CIRP in house cohorts need at least six participants and work best at ten to fifteen. For other courses, ask us about the size that suits your team. Organisations sending five or more people qualify for a group fee.

Yes. The Crisis Management Masterclass is a single day exercise that tests a leadership team together, and our crisis management exercises run from tabletop to full scale. ECL trains and certifies each person. Many organisations do both, and a Masterclass counts as exercise evidence at ECL renewal, though it gives no entry credit to any ECL level.

We publish our own fees and nobody else's. ECL-F costs CHF 1,190, ECL-A CHF 2,290 and ECL-E CHF 2,990. CIRP-F costs CHF 990, CIRP-A CHF 1,890 and CIRP-E CHF 2,490. BCLE 2000 and CRLE 2000 each cost CHF 2,350, with the DRI certification fee of CHF 500 listed separately. All are per participant and exclude VAT. For PECB and BCI courses, their own sites and partners give the current fee.

For CIRP and ECL, yes. Every fee includes examination and certification. For BCLE 2000 and CRLE 2000 the qualifying examination is part of the course week, and the DRI certification fee of CHF 500 is listed separately on each course page.

Yes. Organisations that send five or more participants qualify for a group fee. Book a consultation with the number of people and the courses, and we will quote for the group.

The DRI qualifying examination has 100 multiple choice questions, lasts two and a half hours and is conducted in English. CIRP-F and ECL-F end in an examination of one and a half hours, CIRP-A and ECL-A in one of two and a half hours, and the Expert levels in a two hour examination followed by a certification board assessment of a case study. Every examination is sat the day after teaching ends, and the pass mark is 75% in every case.

For CIRP and ECL the first calendar year is included in the course fee, and after that keeping CIRP costs CHF 80 and keeping ECL CHF 100 per calendar year. DRI maintains its own certifications directly. Holders renew through their MyDRI account at the end of each year, pay DRI's annual fee there and report their Continuing Education Activity Points, and Resilience Guard does not charge or handle that fee.

The same terms apply to every course we run. Registration is confirmed once the full fee is paid. A bank transfer should be made within five days of booking to secure the place, and card payments carry a 6.3% surcharge. A booking cancelled 30 days or more before the first course day is refunded in full, one cancelled 15 to 29 days before is refunded at 50%, and no refund is due within 14 days. Instead of cancelling, a booking can be transferred to another course within twelve months, up to three times and at no charge, but a transferred booking is not refunded in any case. A colleague from the same company can take the place if we are told before the first day.

DRI course dates are published each year on dri-switzerland.org. CIRP and ECL mainly run in house, so their dates are set with your organisation. Book a consultation or write through the contact page, tell us your role and the course you have in mind, and we respond within one working day.