Training manager Hugh Lawson explained, “Security is a high technology industry, where change and technical improvement is constant. Top quality training is essential, a fact that we recognised by setting up our own training company, Pointer Training, which brands itself Old Dog New Tricks. We work closely with the SQA and Skills for Security and have been instrumental in both delivering and driving improvements in the Modern Apprenticeship programme in security.”
Pointer Training was established to provide training for the apprentices, engineers and managers of its parent company, it now also provides high quality training for other security companies. This year alone the company has trained and tested over 170 candidates in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Over the past seven years the company has achieved a one hundred percent completion rate for Modern Apprentices.
A major innovation this year has been the introduction of block training in week long modules. This is much easier for employers to schedule and has resulted in college attendance being boosted from 40 percent to 95 percent. In a further innovation, evening classes have been introduced for experienced engineers to allow them to update their skills and gain recognition by formal qualifications.
Looking beyond Modern Apprenticeships, Pointer Training is working with the SQA to develop Higher National Certificates in security, CCTV and fire systems. “We have been overwhelmed by the response to this initiative, which shows that both apprentices and qualified engineers are keen to develop their skills and advance their careers in the industry,” Hugh Lawson concluded.
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