Much more than a uniform

The recent BBC investigation into ‘sham’ training courses was shocking enough that it not only featured as the topic of the File on 4 programmes, but also made headline news on the BBC. Unfortunately, here at SAFECROWDS we weren’t shocked by the story – only by the fact that it has taken so long to come to the media’s attention. As a team of security professionals, who have worked in varied security roles for several years, we’re only too aware of how much poor practice and rule bending goes on, which is why we’re determined to raise the bar and do things differently with our own training academy.

Why does proper training matter?

Let’s be clear, this issue is not just about dodgy practices and the uneven playing field they create: it’s about people’s safety. What the BBC investigation uncovered was the all-too-common practice of offering quick-pass courses for an inflated fee, missing out vital modules such as health & safety. If we consider what happened in the immediate aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack, when the only people on the scene to provide first aid were the security and stewarding teams, it’s easy to see how essential that element of the training can be. And even on an ordinary match day, in a crowd of tens of thousands, there is often the need for competent first aid support to deal with injuries, accidents or health emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks.

The companies offering these fast-track, guaranteed pass courses are also rubber stamping candidates with poor levels of spoken and written English. In a safety-critical role, the ability to communicate, understand what’s being said, and read written instructions is vital. But these training providers are failing to set a reasonable standard of English required and the companies deploying those candidates are turning a blind eye to their lack of knowledge, skills and language competency.

These practices are putting people at risk. The safety of every security guard at work, and the people they are employed to protect, depends on much more than a uniform and a physical presence. Proper training enables security professionals to anticipate issues before they cause a problem, to de-escalate situations, and to work collaboratively with colleagues, other workers and members of the public to tackle safety threats and commercial risk, making in-the-moment safety critical decisions.

How deep is the deception?

Sadly it’s not just members of the public and staff at shops, nightclubs, venues and offices that are being duped into believing that they are being protected by properly-trained security guards – it’s the companies that are procuring security services too. They may have stipulated an agreed level of training for every member of the security team when awarding the contract, and the paperwork they receive may indicate that they’re receiving fully-trained security guards, but the paperwork often doesn’t reflect the level of training completed.

Practices we know to be happening in the security industry include:

·?????? Deploying people as NVQ Level 2 qualified Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensed personnel and crowd safety stewards in a stadium setting when they have enrolled on a course but have not completed it.

·?????? The companies deploying these unqualified guards and stewards have no intention of making them complete the modules within the required period or recruiting for the role after the registration expiries, thereby putting the client’s team and the public at risk.

·?????? Certifying completed training when the course content has not been delivered as per the SIA guided learning hours.

·?????? Passing a candidate for a course when they have not demonstrated they have the knowledge and skills required

We know that security companies are under pressure to provide personnel, but there is no excuse for deploying people who lack the skills and knowledge for the job and do not have the English language skills to communicate effectively. No-pass-no-fee training schemes are a very clear red flag that there are automatic passes for candidates, which overlooks the need for high quality, verifiable training in our sector. Certainly, those who procure security services need to ensure due diligence is done, but the problem is that the paperwork often doesn’t reflect the true behind-the-scenes reality, and it is really the security company’s job to make sure we do the right thing and act responsibly.

How we’re doing things differently at SAFECROWDS

At SAFECROWDS, we are committed to transforming the way security guards are trained and hired across the security sector. Rather than relying on certification from training providers who may or may not have delivered robust training and certification practices, we have established our own training academy, and offer #QNUK certified courses that encompass the wide range of services we offer, including security and stewarding. All our courses will be assessed by an Independent Quality Assessor (IQA) and we will only deploy personnel who have completed the course and passed their assessment to the required level for the role.

The SAFECROWDS Training Academy has been created primarily to serve the needs of our own business and our clients, but we’re also aware that is has the potential to serve an industry need too, which is why we also offer courses for other companies and individuals who want to train or refresh their skills in security roles.

It’s part of an investment in doing things differently that will benefit our business, our employees, our clients and our sector. It’s just one of the ways that we’re leveraging our experience to improve the service our clients can expect, the career opportunities for our team and the growth potential for our company.

Security personnel serve an important, safety critical role in so many environments. If we don’t train them properly we are not only doing our sector a disservice; we’re also failing our clients. That’s why the SAFECROWDS Training Academy is so fundamental to our business.

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