News & Articles
Why Get Licensed?
If you visit a Dentist or a Doctor you’ll notice a whole string of letters after their name, whether you decide to check out these credentials is unlikely, your choice is based on mutual trust. But what about the person rummaging through your bag as a security check, are they honest and reliable, are they qualified to invade your privacy? There’s no reason why you shouldn’t ask either of these questions and whoever is taking a peak into your belongings should be able to prove they are authorised to do so and proof will be their SIA Licence, and if they don’t have this identification you have every right to be suspicious.
Fact is, all Security Guards, Door Supervisors and CCTV Operators must have this identification to work in the security industry and the penalties for the employer and employee who ignore this legislation are high – that’s why all security personnel need to Get Licensed. The Security Industry Authority reports to the Home Office and the criteria for obtaining certification is carefully managed to ensure that as well as anyone employed in the security industry the employers or agencies who supply security teams are thoroughly monitored too.
The days when simply donning a uniform qualified you to be in charge of the safety and security of public places are long gone – the training is intense, high level, and often involves working with sensitive equipment which is now permissible in legal proceedings. You only need take a look at the convictions made with the use of CCTV surveillance equipment in the recent street riots across the UK to appreciate the level of accuracy and scrutiny involved.
For example, if you break down part of the training involved for a Door Supervisor you probably wouldn’t imagine that they’d need to understand elements of civil and criminal law, conflict management or incident reporting procedures and crime scene preservation techniques. Forget about big blokes in tuxedos they are as much a cliché as the itchy security guard’s uniform or for that matter the doctor’s sparkling white coat and ubiquitous stethoscope. Truth is there’s a whole lot more to a licensed security personnel role than meets the eye.
It’s probably worth mentioning ‘personnel’ (now known as Human Resources) here too. Given that Security Guards and Door Supervisors are often the first point of contact in public places it’s important that the training covers dealing with people in such a way that they feel welcomed as well as safe. One of the most fundamental skills for these roles is that candidates enjoy working with people and being a good communicator. In order to Get Licensed the training takes on average three to four days depending on the sector you choose, but don’t forget if you decide to add more qualifications to your CV you can at any time.
The environment you work in is entirely up to you, the possibilities are endless such as sports events, music venues, banks, hospitals with all the right qualifications you might even decide to become a trainer yourself – all it takes is the desire to succeed in the fastest growing employment sector the UK has to offer.
As soon as you’ve passed your initial training you can then apply to the SIA for your license which takes around six weeks to process and in the interim you can then start to apply for the thousands of vacancies all over the country. So within a matter of weeks you’ll be well on your way to a great career and, depending on your experience, the dividends are excellent.
Security industry training and your SIA License will provide you with a genuine qualification that will stay with you for all your working life. Even if you decide to change direction at a later date having a security training qualification on your CV says a great deal about the kind of honest and reliable person you are, and taking into account some of the aspects of the training mentioned in this article, can open up a whole lot of doors you might not of thought were relevant, that’s why it makes sense to Get Licensed.
