How Often Should You Carry Out Cyber Awareness Training?

If your answer is “once a year”, you’re not alone.

For many businesses, cyber awareness training is treated like a compliance exercise. A training session gets booked, employees complete the course, a certificate is filed away, and Cyber Security isn’t discussed again until the following year.

The problem? Cybercriminals aren’t waiting twelve months before changing their tactics.

In the time between annual training sessions, new phishing scams emerge, ransomware groups evolve their techniques, and attackers find increasingly convincing ways to target employees. What your team learned last year could already be out of date.

That’s why more organisations are moving away from the “tick-box” approach to Cyber Security training and towards something far more effective: continuous cyber awareness.

Here in Ipswich and across Suffolk, we’ve seen a noticeable shift in how businesses approach Cyber Security over the last few years. Cyber awareness training is no longer viewed as something only large enterprises need. From professional services firms and manufacturers to charities and growing small businesses, organisations of all sizes are recognising that cyber resilience starts with their people.

Cyber Security Isn’t Just an IT Problem

Ask most business leaders what keeps them awake at night and Cyber Security is likely to feature somewhere on the list.

Yet despite investing in firewalls, antivirus software, and other security solutions, many organisations overlook their biggest potential vulnerability: people.

That’s not a criticism of employees. The reality is that modern cyber attacks are designed to exploit human behaviour. Phishing emails appear to come from trusted suppliers, colleagues, customers, or even senior leaders. Attackers use urgency, authority, and curiosity to persuade people to click links, open attachments, or share information.

Today, spotting a phishing email is no longer as simple as identifying poor grammar or obvious mistakes. With AI-generated content and increasingly sophisticated social engineering techniques, employees need regular exposure to current threats, not a reminder once every twelve months.

Tom Ingram, Cyber Security Specialist at Corbel, explains:

“The businesses that are most resilient to cyber attacks aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest security budgets. They’re the organisations that consistently invest in educating their people. Cyber awareness isn’t something you do once and forget about. It needs regular reinforcement because the threats are constantly changing.”

So, How Often Should Training Take Place?

The honest answer is that cyber awareness should be an ongoing process rather than a calendar event.

At Corbel, we see the greatest success when training becomes part of everyday business culture rather than something employees are asked to complete once a year.

Think about it this way. If you wanted to improve your fitness, would you go to the gym once every January and expect results to last for the rest of the year?

Cyber awareness works in much the same way. Knowledge fades. Threats evolve. Good habits need reinforcement.

That’s why our Cyber Security Training with Phishing Simulation service focuses on continuous learning rather than one-off training sessions. Employees receive regular, manageable training designed to fit around their working day rather than disrupt it. The programme includes weekly micro-learning videos, short quizzes, monthly Cyber Security newsletters, and quarterly phishing simulations that help keep security front of mind throughout the year.

Why Phishing Simulations Are So Valuable

One of the biggest challenges with cyber awareness training is measuring whether it’s actually working.

Employees can watch training videos and complete assessments, but how would they react when a genuine phishing email arrives in their inbox?

That’s where phishing simulations become invaluable.

By replicating realistic phishing attacks in a safe environment, businesses can gain a clearer understanding of where vulnerabilities exist and identify employees who may benefit from additional support. Quarterly phishing simulations are a core part of Corbel’s training approach because they provide practical insights that traditional training alone cannot.

The goal isn’t to catch people out. It’s to help them build the confidence and instincts needed to recognise and report suspicious activity before it becomes a serious problem.

Working with businesses throughout Ipswich and Suffolk, we’ve found that phishing simulations often reveal surprising results. Even highly experienced teams can be caught out by a convincing email when they’re busy, distracted, or under pressure. That’s exactly why regular testing is so important.

Don’t Forget About New Starters

Another common mistake businesses make is waiting until the next scheduled training programme before educating new employees.

The first few weeks in a new role are often a whirlwind of learning systems, meeting colleagues, and processing large amounts of information. Unfortunately, cybercriminals know this too.

Cyber awareness should form part of every onboarding process, helping employees understand security expectations from day one. That’s why Corbel’s training platform includes a dedicated new starter cyber security assessment, giving businesses a consistent way to introduce good security practices from the outset.

Training Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Let’s be honest. Cyber Security training hasn’t always had the best reputation.

Many employees immediately think of lengthy presentations, technical jargon, and slides packed with information that feels disconnected from their day-to-day role.

The most effective training is the opposite.

It should be engaging, practical, relevant, and easy to understand.

Alongside our online training platform, Corbel also delivers face-to-face Phishing Awareness Training for organisations across Suffolk. These instructor-led fun, interactive sessions encourage discussion, use real-world examples, and help employees understand the techniques cybercriminals are using today. Topics include everything from traditional phishing and spear phishing attacks through to smishing, vishing, social media scams, and emerging AI-driven threats.

Because when employees understand how attacks work in practice, they’re far more likely to recognise them in the real world.

Building a Security Culture, Not Just Completing Training

The businesses that are most resilient to cyber threats aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most money on technology.

They’re often the organisations that have created a culture where Cyber Security is everyone’s responsibility.

Employees feel comfortable reporting suspicious emails. Managers openly discuss cyber risks. Security becomes part of everyday business conversations rather than something that’s only mentioned after an incident.

Regular training, phishing simulations, ongoing communications, and leadership engagement all contribute to creating that culture. Our cyber awareness programme supports this with ongoing training content, monthly security updates, Outlook phishing analysis tools, and individual reporting that helps businesses track progress over time.

Final Thoughts

If your organisation only thinks about cyber awareness once a year, it may be time to rethink the approach.

The cyber threat landscape changes far too quickly for annual training alone to remain effective. Instead, businesses should focus on building continuous awareness through regular learning, frequent reminders, phishing simulations, practical engagement, and ongoing reinforcement.

At Corbel, our approach combines Cyber Security training, quarterly phishing simulations, monthly security updates, onboarding assessments, and face-to-face phishing awareness training to help businesses across Ipswich, Suffolk, and beyond create knowledgeable, confident, and security-conscious teams.

As Tom puts it:

“Cyber Security technology is incredibly important, but technology alone can’t stop every attack. When employees know what to look for and feel confident challenging something that doesn’t seem right, that’s when a business becomes truly resilient.”

Because when it comes to Cyber Security, your people shouldn’t be considered the weakest link.

They should be your strongest line of defence.

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Corbel Solutions are an Ipswich based IT Support provider who work proactively throughout Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area including Felixstowe, Stowmarket, Sudbury, Woodbridge, Newmarket and the surrounding Suffolk area in order to provide a wide range of services from Business IT Support, Cyber Security and Cyber Security Training all the way through to IT Consultancy and Microsoft CoPilot for 365 services. To take a look at what some of our clients have had to say about working with us, check out our Google Review page. To find out more information or to have a chat with one of our team members, feel free to give us a call on 01473 241515 or email us on info@corbel.co.uk. Or alternatively, you can book in a call with one of our team members here.