The short answer is yes. Security guards in London undertake basic frontline SIA training. Often in order to secure themselves a door supervision licence to obtain work in the security industry.
Which SIA licence is best?
The most popular SIA licence is the door supervisor licence because it is affordable to obtain and gives you the flexibility to work in a variety of settings. This licence enables you to do everything, including working the doors in high-end restaurants and retail security guarding in Central London. If you already have your SIA licence and are looking for work as a security guard, please do reach out to us.
The door supervision training includes the following topics
Common Security Industry Knowledge
This includes a focus on Awareness of the Law in the Private Security Industry, Health and Safety for the Private Security Operative, Fire Safety Awareness, Emergency Procedures, The Private Security Industry, Communication Skills and Customer Care.
Door Supervisor Specialist Module
This includes Behavioural Standards, Civil and Criminal Law, Searching, Arrest, Drugs Awareness, Recording Incidents and Crime Preservation, Licensing Law, Emergency Procedures, Dealing with Vulnerable Individuals, Dealing with Queues and Crowd.
Conflict Management Module
This includes a focus on Avoiding Conflict and Reducing Personal Risk, Defusing Conflict, Resolving and Learning from Conflict, Application of Communication Skills and Conflict Management for Security Guarding and Close Protection.
Physical Intervention Skills Module
This includes a focus on Physical Skills, Disengagement Techniques and Escorting Techniques.
Whilst the basic door supervision training is great, it still won't prepare you for certain niche sectors such as retail security where both on the job training, learning and experiences really count. Which leads us to our next question.
As a security guard you need to make sure that you can:
keep the people safe who are in your place of work and under your supervision
follow new working practices and processes
understand recent and upcoming changes to the law that will affect your job
make the best use of new technology
refresh your knowledge of first aid and health and safety
Coronavirus and the lockdowns that ensued upended life as we knew it, and for many of us, this has affected our career, personal life and shifted many peoples personal objectives. As a result, a lot of people are now wanting to upskill or reskill in order to expand their skill set or change their career entirely.
We'll explain what these terms represent, why they're significant right now, and how we can assist you in this post.
What is security upskilling and security reskilling?
What do these words mean, if you've recently heard them a lot? Both suggest developing new abilities, but there is a distinction. Let's look more closely.
Upskilling is the process of learning new skills to enhance your skill set.
The workplace is the most typical setting for upskilling security. In order to help security guards advance in their existing roles and contribute value to the company, companies may want to invest in their training.
However, many people who are not part of an organisation could also seek to improve their skill set. To do this, they might enrol in evening classes, quick courses, degrees or other types of professional training. In the end, this is a way to advance your career. If you have recently upskilled and are looking for a better paid job in the security industry please do contact us.
Reskilling is the process of learning new security skills with the goal of finding a different job or career path with the security sector.
The ability to reskill in the security industry appeals to people who want to shift occupations or careers. They might pursue additional schooling to gain the knowledge and abilities required to start a position higher up the career ladder such as an account manager, contracts manager or operations manager.
However, this also occurs at work. For instance, if a security guard or security supervisors skill set is better suited to another position, senior management of the security company can decide to retrain them.
3 reasons why upskilling or reskilling as a security guard is important
Most people upskill or reskill in the security industry to stand out from the crowd. Yet, after the past few years, it’s now more important than ever. Here’s why:
The current economic climate
As a result of the pandemic, job opportunities are now dimishing and the UK is officially in recession with soaring inflation. This has had detrimental effects on people’s livelihoods and led to a sizeable reduction in the UK's economy.
With all this doom and gloom, gaining new skills will put you in a better position to beat people who are competing for your job. So, if you want to make sure you’ve got the edge, it’s time to start thinking about upgrading your current skills or changing your career path altogether now.
2. Growing digital technologies and innovation
The pandemic has accelerated the rise of the digital economy. This has led to some major developments in the world of security. These include:
Digital transformation
Automation
New job roles
The current demand for security jobs is on the rise. As a result, more people are now looking to gain security skills and find work in the industry.
3. Skills shortages
Security guarding is evolving and is creating a demand for new skills – and this is proving to be problematic. There is now a shortage of security guards in London within the retail, commercial and corporate sectors.
The top 10 security skills in demand in 2022 nclude:
Complex problem-solving
Understanding of the law
Patience and ability to remain calm
Customer service
Coordinating with others
Emotional intelligence
Sound judgement and decision-making
Service orientation
Firm but fair approach
Cognitive flexibility
If you have the above abilities you will be a very sought after security officer and should never be out of work. Our in-house training programmes are designed for businesses that wish to assist their staff in learning new skills and expanding their knowledge of various business-related topics.
Short courses are a fantastic method for security professionals to learn new skills or develop their current ones. These courses give you the option to select and focus on specific security related modules from counter terrorism to advanced conflict management.
They're excellent for improving your skills and obtaining an introduction to the security subject in case you choose to pursue this career route further.