Bridging the professional gap

The learning and skills council (LSC) highlighted the scale of the current skills shortage last year, when it published the findings of the National Employers’ Skills Survey. The survey was the largest ever conducted, its findings revealing that the cause of the crisis most sectors find themselves in is, in part, due to a legacy of poor education. This has created a situation whereupon thousands of working adults do not possess a sufficient grounding in basic numeracy and literacy.

In a sector where the majority of employees are considered to function at the ‘operative level’, the security industry suffers greatly from both skills gaps and shortages. Problems that are now further compounded by the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) recently-introduced Core Competency requirements.

To date, of those individuals that have completed the new SIA-endorsed, National Open College Network Level 2 qualifications from within the door supervision, security guarding and Cash-and-Valuables-in-Transit sub-sectors, an average of 16% across those three disciplines have failed the examinations. This figure – in combination with those individuals who will fail the licensing process on the grounds of criminality or identity problems, and the ongoing inability to recruit to full strength – poses a good many employers something of a thorny dilemma.

In the security systems sub-sector, the recruitment of modern apprentices has improved greatly over the past two years, but staff retention and qualification attainment remain problematic. Inevitably, this means that our industry needs to rethink its direction, tackle that skills gap with a good deal more innovation and, if necessary, look to attract people with related skills from other sectors.

Formulating a strategy

Having identified the skills gap, the real challenge for employers in the security industry is to address it by formulating a skills strategy that not only deals with the immediate problem but provides a long-term, sustainable development framework that dovetails into the wider business strategy for the sector (and is flexible enough to withstand the demands of constant industry change). As this is an industry-wide issue, help is at hand.

Throughout 2005, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is taking a lead on behalf of the regulatory authorities – SITO (as the occupational standards setting body) and the SIA – in respect of the work that is necessary to develop a qualifications strategy for the security industry based on identified employer skills requirements.

The overall goal of this Sector Qualifications Strategy (SQS) is the effective contribution of qualifications and National Occupational Standards (NOS) to the sector, and to those people working – or seeking to work – within it.

The QCA intends to work with key stakeholders in the security industry to determine the features, needs, opportunities and risks for the sector, and then to use these as drivers for the development of qualifications that truly meet skills needs.

As a first step, the QCA, SITO and the SIA are working closely to establish a Qualifications Forum that will support the development and implementation of the SQS by allowing key stakeholders from across the sector to contribute to (and influence) the process at a strategic level. In particular, the Forum will provide support on:

• analysing the appropriateness and effectiveness of current qualifications provision in addressing the identified skills needs for the sector;
• determining what initiatives should be taken forward to help the development of qualifications that meet sector needs (for example increased technical skills);
• the introduction of mechanisms that will allow us to work more effectively with awarding bodies to ensure a rational and coherent qualifications framework.

A further key objective of the emerging SQS is to provide clear support in the form of an attractive, accessible progression route. It must also challenge and encourage people in our industry to achieve at every level, while stimulating individuals’ aspirations to progress and reach their full potential.

Security as a profession

There’s a well-supported argument which states that we should not be focusing on the security industry or security sector, but instead adopt an holistic approach and address the skills requirements of the security ‘profession’.

Indeed, this position is further enhanced by the fact that key stakeholders from Her Majesty’s Forces, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office Police, the Immigration Service and NGO support organisations (such as the Red Cross) are also identifying an increase in synergistic skills requirements with the private sector, and are therefore backing a plethora of NOS and qualification development projects.

The increase in members from such organisations within The Security Institute is also a positive indication that security is increasingly viewed as a profession without boundaries, and one of great strategic importance to the UK economy in general.

In March, the Government published ‘Skills: Getting on in Business, Getting on at Work’, a document in which it outlined plans for the next major step in making the UK a world leader in skills. What, then, can employers expect from these plans? There are a number of key commitments within:

• to deliver publicly-funded skills training in a way that is directly led by the needs of employers as its contribution to a national partnership which promotes higher levels of investment in training by employers;
• to provide more people with the right skills and qualifications such that they may be effective and productive at work through the reform of education and training for both young people and adults… this will cover skills development at all levels, from functional literacy and numeracy through to technical and advanced crafts and professional skills from Level 3, and on to higher academic education.

Meeting the employers’ needs

The publication also talks about supporting training that is designed and delivered in a way that best meets employers’ needs through the implementation of the National Employer Training Programme (NETP) in which SITO is participating. This is being launched following the success of the LSC Employer Training Pilots (ETP) (‘Returning to learning’, SMT, March 2005, pp38-40). The NETP will offer:

• a ‘first stop shop’ for employers’ business development and skills needs, backed by guaranteed customer standards;
• a brokerage service, acting on behalf of employers, to help them receive specialist help in identifying skills needs (including screening and assessment of literacy/numeracy skills);
• training programmes designed as a flexible package, sourced from approved high quality providers and (usually) delivered in the workplace… the training will be able to cover both informal development and training leading to qualifications, depending on the employers’ immediate and long-term needs.

This is one of the most significant commitments made to date, and is supportive of a previous SITO recommendation (‘Returning to learning’, SMT, March 2005, pp38-40).

Further commitments include:

• free training for employees needing basic skills for employment;
• a national service for large, multi-sited employers (ideal for many employers in the security industry);
• a long-term relationship to help employers build the skilled workforce needed to achieve their business objectives.