ISO 42001:2023 Training
A review of the training options offered by PECB and MasterMind
Intro
After studying ISO 27001:2023 and writing a series of blog posts on the different training options available, I decided to delve into ISO 42001:2023 as my next step. Based on my earlier experience, I followed the same path by enrolling on Mastermind ISO 42001 Lead Auditor and PECB ISO 42001 Lead Implementer training courses.
This international standard specifies requirements to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS).
Companies adopting the standard demonstrate a responsible and safe approach to AI, while earning customer trust in a time surrounded by concerns given the fast pace of technological development. Besides, getting certified could be a market differentiator, since, as of February 2026, there are less than 200 companies certified.
Source: Linkedin post by Dixon Wright
Mastermind - ISO 42001 Lead Auditor
Course content
The training encompasses 8 chapters, and a total of 40 lessons, covering the below material:
- Introduction
- The Basics
- Understanding the AIMS
- Implementing the Management System
- Planning for the Audit
- Executing the Audit
- The 38 Annex A Controls
Description
The course content consists of recorded lectures by David Forman, spanning around 6 hours.
I had the same delightful experience as on his ISO 27001 Lead Auditor training. He is a vibrant person, clearly passionate about the subject, with a great sense of humor. Legal and compliance content can be difficult to digest, specially at night ☕, but it wasn’t the case here thanks to his teaching methodology and energy.
The only catch, as a non-native English speaker myself, was the lack of captions, and the apparent inability to rewind/forward the video until you finish it for the first time.
At the end of each lesson, there’s a simple quiz to test your knowledge. Upon finishing the course, you may take the final exam, which consists of 75 questions, requiring a minimum 80% score to pass. There’s no time limit (as far as I am concerned), nor any kind of proctoring involved.
If you paid attention during the course, this should be more than enough to pass.
Additionally, there’s no need to acquire a copy of the standard to complete the course. Nevertheless, I would advise to read the standard before in order to get the most out of the course, which will lead to a deeper understanding of ISO 42001.
Impression
I was lucky to sign up for the course when it was free, but even at the current price of 99$, I would still recommend students to enroll. It’s an affordable course of good quality, providing a proper introduction to ISO 42001 and the audit activity.
PECB - ISO 42001 Lead Implementer
Training options
There are 4 training options provided by PECB partners:
- Onsite
- Live online
- E-learning
- Self-study
The last 2 options might appear to be the same, but there’s a tiny difference to take into consideration. E-learning training has videos and PDF slides, while self-study only has the PDF content. Therefore, it would be advisable to buy e-learning training if said option is available for the associated course.
PECB Partners
I purchased the training course from Mindset Cyber, which based on my experience with ISO 27001 training happened to be the most affordable PECB partner, at a price of 527€. Purchasing the e-learning course through a PECB partner should include at least the following:
- Access to video content and PDF slides
- 2 exam attempts
- Certification fees
Course content
The self-study training content is structured as 5 days, reflecting the agenda of the onsite/live-online training.
- Day 1: Introduction to ISO/IEC 42001 and the initiation of an AIMS implementation
- Day 2: Planning the implementation of an AIMS
- Day 3: Implementation of an AIMS
- Day 4: AIMS monitoring, continual improvement, and preparation for the certification audit
- Day 5: Certification exam
You can take the exam at any time, so there’s no need to complete the content in 4 days.
Preparation
My preparation plan for the exam was as follows:
- Read ISO 42001 standard.
- (Optional) Finished Mastermind ISO 42001 Lead Auditor course.
- Watched all video lectures, spanning a total of 14 hours.
- Read the PDF content (521 pages), while doing the associated quizzes for each lesson.
- Read ISO 42001 standard again.
- Re-attempted the quizzes once more.
You don’t need to take Mastermind ISO 42001 Lead Auditor course in order to pass the exam, yet it could be helpful.
Regarding the video lectures, I felt there was an improvement compared to my previous experience with PECB ISO 27001 Lead Implementer training. You can watch the lectures directly on mypecb.com without having to download any additional software, and it’s possible to increase the playback speed as well.
Most importantly, the lectures provided additional insights beyond the PDF content. Therefore, I would recommend watching them, even if it’s on the background while multi-tasking. The only downside is that there are still no captions available.
Exam
The exam is open-book, so students are allowed to check the course materials, notes, and the ISO standard.
All the PDF content, including the notes registered on mypecb.com, will be available on the PECB exams app. I only had a physical copy of the ISO 42001 standard, and an index file of the course, which contained references to all the ISO standards mentioned.
I experienced no problem using the PECB exams app in order to read the PDF content. While there’s no search functionality, you can check the index for reference. However, in order to see the expanded notes of each page, you need to click an empty dropdown, something which didn’t seem so obvious at first glance.
The online exam is proctored, requiring to be present 30 minutes before the scheduled time in order to verify your identity. The problem is that after finishing the verification process, I had to stare at a countdown timer for 25 minutes before beginning my exam.
The exam duration is 3 hours, even though if you take the exam in a non-native language, you should be allocated 30 extra minutes, which is quite handy.
Regarding the format, it’s multiple-choice, combining case-scenario questions with standard ones. I would recommend doing the standard questions first, then moving on to the case scenarios. You will gain peace of mind by seeing the number of answered questions going up quickly.
As a last piece of advice, this is a long exam.
Pay attention to the remaining time.
Have a proper meal before the exam. I made the same mistake on my ISO 27001 attempt, since I had a light breakfast early in the morning. Halfway through the exam, I felt really tired, hungry, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish. Somehow, I managed to answer all the questions, with 30 minutes left to review.
I was so tired I just decided to submit my exam and check the results, rather than reading 80 questions again.
The minimum passing score is 70%.
I got 77 out of 80 questions correct, so I passed.
Impression
I would recommend this course to anyone willing to properly certify his/her knowledge of ISO 42001, since the format of the exam tests your understanding of the norm through standard and case-scenario questions in a proctored environment.
From a learning perspective, the PDF content and video lectures are definitely useful and insightful.
However, the real learning lies in reading, reviewing, and understanding ISO 42001.
Conclusion
If your sole interest is learning ISO 42001, read and understand the philosophy of the norm.
Furthermore, if you would like an affordable training option with a fantastic teacher, go with Mastermind ISO 42001 Lead Auditor.
Lastly, if you want to certify your knowledge in a exam with standard and case-scenario questions, enroll on PECB ISO 42001 Lead Implementer course.