In his excellent article 'Just enough education to perform' (SMT, May 2001), Surrey Security Training's John Berry stated that less than 10% of the workforce is participating in 'recognised' training. That is a truly frightening statistic to say the least.
It appears that far too many organisations are paying nothing but lip service when it comes to training and staff development and, one suspects, must be falsifying training records for inspectorate bodies if the aforementioned figures are indeed correct.
With industry regulation here in all but working practice, surely it's high time we took a long, hard look at training standards?
Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm well aware that the Basic Job Training course has now been increased to three days, and that BS 7499 is in the process of being revised and revamped. That said, we must ask ourselves: is this really enough?
It's obvious to all that it's becoming increasingly difficult for security companies to attract and retain the right calibre of personnel to the industry. The question is why?
We are not attracting the right candidates to the industry for a number of reasons. Poor image, poor supervision and management, low rates of pay and, last but by no means least, little or no career training and counselling are the prime factors at play.
Introducing Individual Training Plans
It's time for the security industry, with one voice, to push towards making manned security a career and not just a 'stopgap' job. There is no good reason why we shouldn't offer structured career training to staff.
There are already various courses out there that can provide an officer with a structured career path, so I've no intention of stating that we need to reinvent the wheel. However, those courses could be enhanced still further. When you compare our training to that of other European countries, it's all-too-obvious that we're falling well short of the necessary mark.
So how can we ramp up standards across the manned guarding sector?
I believe that, once they have successfully completed Basic Job Training, each employee should be given an Individual Training Plan to ensure that he or she is fully aware of which direction their career path is likely to take. That plan has to be documented, manageable and, most importantly, achievable. Once an officer has completed his or her Individual Training Plan, the cycle should then recommence.
Once they have successfully completed Basic Job Training, each security employee should be given an Individual Training Plan to ensure that he or she is aware of which direction their career path is likely to take. That plan has to be documented, manageab
It would be easy enough to tailor the Individual Training Plan to meet company policy by introducing specific parameters, but also make it flexible enough to be tailored to suit individuals' needs. Any plan should be given to all employees up to an agreed level. This would undoubtedly incur a cost on the part of the security company, but how much does it actually cost to recruit staff? If staff are retained then surely recruiting costs will be reduced?
Poor supervision and management is mainly due to a lack of proper training. Prior to any promotion, I feel that employees should attend and successfully complete the appropriate training. For example, before being promoted to leading officer the candidate should have completed Basic Job Training, the City & Guilds Professional Security Officer course and/or the Advanced Security Officer stream.
Supervisors should have completed all of the previous courses plus an appropriately-certified supervisory training course. Managers should have successfully completed a similarly-certified course. We should also recognise that these courses are not exclusive. Additional training must be given relating to CCTV management and monitoring, health and safety issues, current legislation (eg the Data Protection Act), computer skills and first aid.
Updating training records
Why shouldn't the soon-to-be-formed Private Security Industry Authority – and the industry at large – adopt or extend the licensing of personnel to include updates of training records so that individuals' career progressions can be effectively monitored? Conversely, we could take a 'journeyman's' approach. As is the case when any license is issued, a passport (not dissimilar to the BSRB idea some years ago) may be granted to a given individual and a company stamp relating to any training entered into that passport as and when a 'module' is completed.
A record of any training would then be updated at regular intervals on a national database. This would also highlight and separate diligent companies who comply with legislation from those who, for want of a better description, "live off the backs of others".
If the Private Security Industry Act and officer licensing are to work, a unified approach towards training has to be the way forward.
Source
SMT
Postscript
Stuart Galloway is senior associate at WSG Associates