In the race to make security a profession, it's perhaps more important now than at any time in the past to build-in plans for effective training. Although the Security Industry Authority is in the throes of new research to define industry needs, that shouldn't prevent managers from proceeding with their continuing professional development. To help you in your quest for learning, we review a selection of the best courses on offer during 2003.
Security managers looking for training in 2003 have a host of courses and seminars at their disposal, devised by the likes of Tavcom Training, ARC Training, the Quality Training Alliance, the Scarman Centre at the University of Leicester and, of course, the Security Industry Training Authority (SITO).

Tavcom Training's already award-winning courses are bolstered by the addition of some new variants this time around.

If you're thinking about swapping over to networked-based security systems this year, you should check out the company's one-day seminar 'An Introduction to IP'. Delegates will gain a basic understanding of computer-based technologies, and discover the relative merits of digital versus analogue CCTV. The seminars look at what exactly makes a network, the difference between a LAN, HAN and WAN, network protocols (and why they're needed), the problems of hacking and data tampering and where TCP and IP fit. An excellent grounder in what is already fast-becoming the systems sector's 'plat du jour'.

Staying on the CCTV theme for a moment, Tavcom is also offering a fascinating three-day course specifically on 'Control Room Supervisory Skills'. This is a 'must' for anyone currently holding – or aspiring to hold – managerial or supervisory positions in a Control Room environment. You'll learn all there is to know about managing people, interviewing skills, Health and Safety, workload planning, rules of evidence and Courtroom procedures, contract management and remote surveillance techniques.

In this day and age, security staff are increasingly being asked to learn the duties and responsibilities of the concierge. Many of the major players in the private sector guarding market – notably Wilson James, winner of the Best Guarding Company in the 2002 Security Excellence Awards (see 'For Your Eyes Only', pp24-28) – have recognised the need to diversify in this way, and are now offering such services for the end user.

For their part, in-house managers under budgetary pressure – and who subsequently have to justify staff numbers – will want to add this strand to their officers' bow.

'Concierge Training' leads to a BTEC Foundation Award in the discipline (if you take the three-day course, or a general certificate if you choose the two-day option). The basic role of the concierge is debated, followed by a full run-down on all the essentials of 'front of house' duties. Highly recommended.

Courses for practising managers
There are a couple of courses of particular interest to security managers. For the first time, Tavcom has made available a BTEC Professional Award that will benefit professionals directly responsible for electronic security at their premises. Run over three days, the course looks at CCTV, access control, both internal and external intruder alarm systems and the 'hot topic' of the moment – IT and data security. You'll find out how to obtain best value in selecting systems for refurbishments and new build projects, and how to go about selecting the best installer for your company's premises.

Gauging ongoing maintenance is an area that's often forgotten, but not here. Also included are emerging issues of equal importance (notably the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000), recognising and using the 'operational requirement' (BS EN 50132-7) and financial responses to the tender process. A series of individual and group workshops will be of great benefit to all attendees. Don't forget that this course will allow you to network with other managers from all sectors of the security industry and beyond.

'Managing CCTV Control Rooms' is another new Tavcom offering for this year, again leading to a BTEC Professional Award. This module will be of particular interest to town centre CCTV managers, project managers, security managers operating in the retail, commercial and industrial arenas and representatives of statutory agencies.

At the end of the course – again run over three days – managers should "gain the skill and confidence to introduce a new scheme, or improve and update their existing operation".

The latest developments in CCTV will be examined, while delegates are taught how to adopt a practical approach to management by way of case studies, the adoption of correct Codes of Practice, recognising Human Rights (and how they impact on security) and the selection, screening and vetting of staff.

Security risk management
A relative newcomer to the training scene, ARC Training was borne out of ARC Risk Management – the specialist risk management consultancy – back in 2000.

In the short space of time between now and then, ARC has grown to become one of the private sector's foremost providers of professional security management training.

The team at ARC Training is headed up by director David Cresswell and Peter Horsburgh, the company's senior training consultant.

In 2003, courses will be split between two venues – the Swan at Streatley Hotel near Reading, or the Holiday Inn in the same town. The company is also offering end user training on site by request.

ARC offers general and specialised security management training in addition to advice on investigation techniques. On a general level, there's instruction on security supervision, business security, co-ordination and management, asset protection and senior and strategic management.

The two-and-a-half day 'Business Security for Managers' course is of particular interest. As a fast-paced introduction to the discipline you couldn't really ask for more. Risk management, security design, basic policy and procedures, IT and information security and access control all come under the microscope.

'Security Management and Asset Protection' is a detailed and interactive ten-day programme perfectly tailored to those who want to learn and improve upon their management techniques. You name the topic and the chances are it's included in this residential course (which runs from 12-23 May or 13-24 October). Instruction in risk management, counter-terrorism, drug and alcohol misuse, investigating, the security of cash, leadership and motivation and personnel security is all on offer. So too tuition in crisis and disaster management, now more than ever before an important concern for practising managers ('Everybody out', SMT, April 2002, pp24-28).

Specialising in surveying
Specialised courses take in security surveying and design, bomb threat risk management, business travel security (another topic of major interest post-September 11, of course), fraud risk reduction, retail loss prevention management and the corporate response to the terrorist threat.

Using a real site, delegates on the 'Security Surveying and Design' course are taught how to carry out a detailed survey, write a survey report and then make recommendations that are based on "sound security design principles". The constituent parts of a security system are examined in detail before the four-day course goes into overdrive on security design principles for buildings and their perimeters.

Sequencing a survey and the design methodologies to be used are of key importance, and ARC has included these topics as part of the tuition programme alongside tips on effective planning and research.

Managing the personal safety of staff members who travel abroad is of vital importance in an era when terrorist activity has reared its ugly head. The core of 'getting things right' here is an effective risk assessment. ARC Training has put that topic at the top of its agenda for 'Business Travel Security', a two-day residential course running on 20-21 August.

ARC's tutors will focus on the types of threat professionals face (including kidnapping), reconnaissance and surveillance methods and the use of executive protection specialists. If you're working for a multinational this is the course for you!

Crucially, ARC has not been afraid to tackle the burgeoning – and potentially thorny – area of IT security. 'IT Security and the Security Manager' is a five-day course designed to explain what's involved in modern-day computer technology, the ultimate aim being the provision of necessary skills and knowledge such that delegates can then implement cost-effective IT security measures. Running from 23-27 June, this is the perfect course for IT and security managers.

Recruiting and staff retention
Given that security teams – like any other – are judged pretty much on their success, it's in every manager's interest to hire the best people for the job. Obvious, but you'd be surprised how often the whole process can – and does – go horribly wrong.

Unfortunately, recruitment decisions are often based on gut feelings and irrelevant details instead of hard evidence of suitability for the job. Failure to accurately identify what you are looking for is one of the main reasons for making the wrong recruitment decision.

Thankfully, the Quality Training Alliance has devised the perfect course to give you every chance of hiring the right people for the job. 'Recruiting Right' examines recruitment criteria in depth, how to set and use them, the benefits of using them… and the costs if you don't.

A central part of the course looks at working through applications, and drawing up a short-list of suitable candidates using their recruitment criteria. How to arrange and begin an interview and rate each candidate using performance standards are also covered.

'Managing Performance' is also of vital importance in the security arena. Giving feedback and appraising people is fraught with potential pitfalls, so the Alliance has devised a course packed full of valuable information to help you avoid them. In general, you'll be shown different assessment approaches and 'recording' systems. Five areas of performance will be identified which can be appraised effectively. There'll be an identification of those topics that shouldn't and mustn't be raised during appraisal, and factors that motivate and cause dissatisfaction. A very worthwhile path of learning for all security managers.

Once your staff are in post, the next task is to keep them there! We all know that retention rates aren't that high in this sector, and we also know the reasons why. However, there are ways in which managers might help the situation.

The Quality Training Alliance course 'Achieving Staff Retention' recognises that the key to staff motivation – and therefore retention – involves identifying and then satisfying each officer or supervisor's individual professional needs. The course tutors will also demonstrate to you the power of effective and deserved praise, and the consequences of withholding that praise.

Specialist courses from SITO
The Security Industry Training Organisation (SITO) boasts another full set of courses this year. Security Management Today readers will be keen to learn that, on top of the regular tuition modules, SITO is offering a series of specialist courses which are not always advertised.

For example, the organisation's senior training adviser Mark McMillan is the contact for courses on: counter-terrorism, counter-surveillance, security driving, close protection, contingency planning and operational management. Meantime, training adviser Frank Holland is the 'man in the know' when it comes to conflict management, Health and Safety, Safety at Work, First Aid and emergency aid. Importantly, SITO can also offer bespoke courses tailored to end user need. Senior training advisers Peter Nolan and Peter Kacarevic are the people to contact if you have some specific training needs in your company.

SITO is continuing along the distance learning route, with CD-Rom training offered for security officers ('The Professional Security Officer', 'The Advanced Security Officer', 'The Professional Retail Security Officer' and 'Cash-in-Transit'). These courses are then taken a stage further in the Secure Environment Series – consisting of multimedia training materials and video titles which are new additions to SITO's product portfolio.

Your security officers will benefit from the Professional titles that cover: dealing with emergencies, patrolling techniques, controlling and monitoring access, carrying out searches, the security officer and the law, developing and maintaining positive working relationships with customers, apprehending and detaining suspects and contributing to good Health and Safety management in the workplace. In the Advanced stream, your officers can learn about the protection of premises and property, electronic security and contingency planning.

The Scarman Centre: distance learning MSc courses for managers in 2003

The scarman centre has firmly established itself as a thriving point of research excellence in the study of policing, public order, crime and its prevention, security and risk management and Health and Safety management. Indeed, the Centre’s research work is at the forefront of the developing interest in these issues. For security managers interested in enhancing their professional status, however, interest in the Centre really lies with its comprehensive series of MSc courses. For some time now the Centre has been renowned for its distance learning tuition, and that tradition will continue in 2003. Two-year courses leading to MSc degrees are being offered in forensic investigation, Health and Safety management and criminal justice. Of particular interest to practising in-house professionals will be the Centre’s three flagship courses: ‘Security Management’, ‘Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management’ and ‘Security and Risk Management’. The MSc (or Post-Graduate Diploma) in ‘Security Management’ consists of six modules (plus a dissertation for the MSc). These cover an introduction to the discipline, crime and the workplace, research methods, managing risk and security, the legal side of the job and general management issues. The dissertation must be between 15-20,000 words, enabling you to carry out research in a chosen discipline and apply the knowledge gained on the course proper. Meantime, the MSc degree in ‘Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management’ provides a wide-ranging interdisciplinary analysis of the extent, effects and explanations of crisis and disaster, as well as the use of risk theory. Again, there are six core modules (namely theories of risk and crisis, risk management, research methods, case studies of crisis scenarios, models of risk and crisis and disaster management). Assessment is continuous for both of these MSc degrees, with each of the study modules comprising a written paper of not more than 4,000 words. Each module is of 12 weeks’ duration, three weeks of which are set aside for you to write your assignment.

The Training Providers: how to contact them…

Tavcom Training Telephone: 01489 895099, Fax: 01489 894400, e-mail: sales@tavcom.com
ARC Training Telephone: 01386 765841 or 01491 875455, Fax: 01491 875744, e-mail: janetward@arc-tc.com
Quality Training Alliance Telephone: 01905 770742, Fax: 01905 797900, e-mail: info@centralrecruit.co.uk
Security Industry Training Organisation Telephone: 01905 20004, Fax: 01905 724949, e-mail: info@sito.co.uk
Scarman Centre, University of Leicester Telephone: 0116-252 3946/2458, Fax: 0116-252 5788, e-mail: scarman.centre@le.ac.uk
Surrey Security Training Web site: www.securityhelp.co.uk/sst, Fax: 08700 940320, e-mail: lesley.kemp@lineone.net