|
Four or five days in a classroom is by no means sufficient to train a security officer, cctv operator or door supervisor in all of the skills and knowledge required for these extremely demanding and responsible positions, and it was never intended to be. The licence-linked training is merely the legal minimum requirement that allows someone to apply for a licence, and the licence is simply an indication that the holder is a fit and proper person and has been schooled in the rudiments of security theory – it is not a statement of their capability.
Any employer who thinks that by employing licensed staff they are protected from claims relating to competency is living with a false sense of security. Similarly, any employee who believes that they are fully capable after a week’s training is fooling themselves: the training provided for licensing purposes should simply be the beginning of a pathway.
To become truly competent we all need to be continually increasing our store of knowledge, no matter what job we do. No-ones training is ever truly completed because changes are happening all the time in the world around us, and these changes impact on our working life. Twenty five ago the majority of security officers worked permanent night shifts – now most work day shifts; very few had any interaction with computers – now they are a routine tool; security officers rarely had to deal with the public – now they work in receptions areas, shopping centres and hospitals.
Different working environments demand different skills and knowledge and different ways of operating to achieve the same objective: a safe and secure assignment. Is it, therefore, reasonable, fair or safe to expect one generic training programme to equip security officers to work effectively in the wide variety of situations in which they find themselves today? Of course it isn’t. Neither is it sufficient to train them thoroughly and then consider that their knowledge is complete.
Training, re-skilling and up-skilling should be a regular feature of a security officer’s working life. This is particularly important because of the nature of the job, which can suddenly change from a series of routine activities to an emergency in which security staff find themselves facing a situation they haven’t had to deal with before – perhaps a fire, a crime scene, an accident or a bomb threat. Suddenly, they are the people that everyone looks to for direction, knowledge and advice. Should the response be immediate, well rehearsed and effective action? Or delay whilst the security team tries to remember what they were told, work out what to do and seek guidance? Are you confident that your team would react correctly?
More mundanely, what happens when an irate customer sits down in the assignment’s reception area and refuses to leave? Or the building is suddenly invaded by campaigners protesting against the client’s activities? Do the security staff have the skills to deal with the situation in a way which causes least difficulty? Do they know what they can and cannot do to move people off site legally? Have they been trained to do that?
The armed services and civilian emergency services invest a great deal of time in making sure that their personnel are trained to deal with any situation that they could reasonably be expected to face. Whilst I am not suggesting that security staff require an equal amount of training, I do believe that far too many customers and employers are providing the minimum, averting their eyes, crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. That is a potentially dangerous position to adopt and could be extremely costly - in more ways than one!
To see the website please click on the link below.
Skills for Security
|
