Outsourcing your security is one of the most cost effective ways to deal with problems such as theft, vandalism, and even terrorism. In doing so however you’re undoubtedly placing a lot of trust in the company to confidently be able to respond to any threat, emergency, or challenge, should it occur. As a result it goes without saying that the security personnel carrying out the task should be trained sufficiently deal with any of the above problems, but just how qualified are they?
The minimum requirement for anyone entering the security profession whether it’s event security, static guarding, or asset protection is an entry level certification known as the Certificate II Security Operations. In Australia, as the law stands there are no formal requirements to complete any future training in order to maintain it. In other words once a person has a license, they have it for good. This is something that every single security guard entering the profession has to undertake. That said, anyone looking to move into specialist areas such as close protection, dog handling and VIP duties will have to undergo further extensive training in their chosen field before they can consider themselves employment worthy in these sectors.
So what about less high profile roles?
For less high profile roles such as event security a client might need large numbers of staff depending upon the size of the festival or event. When this happens, at the very least all personnel should have the Certificate II Security operations and most companies will either carry out ‘in house’ training in order to deal with the unexpected events that festival security throws up, or have their employees attend any one of a number of courses that are carried out each year. The same goes for other similar roles such as static guarding, mobile patrols, commercial security, etc.
Refresher training
A quality security company will also carry out periodic refresher training ensuring that all personnel concerned are ready to deal with the changing face of the industry and everything that entails. This could be how to effectively tackle the growing trend of ‘fence hopping’ at large-scale events through to dealing with internal internet security problems and what to look out for. This often includes theory-based learning, role play, and assessments.
As you can see there are qualified security guards and there are qualified security guards who are continually trained. With this in mind, it’s advisable to choose a company that practices the latter.
At MA Services Group we make sure that all our security guards are continually brought up to speed on all aspects of security. Moreover we make sure that the personnel that we use have a minimum of 3 years experience in the role. We’re more happy to talk about the training that we give our security guards to any potential client, so if you have a security problem that needs solving don’t hesitate to give us a call on 1300 020 406.
