RiskUKOctober2017

The Security Institute’s View
We’ve all heard the debates surrounding
the so-called ‘race to the bottom’ where
pay and charge rates are concerned,
read the stories on ‘full employment’ across the
UK as reported in the mainstream media or
been privy to statements about how security is
a “grudge purchase”. Putting all of that ‘noise’
to one side for a moment, there’s a very real
need to look at the basic evidence and try to
understand where some of the challenges lie.
At the time of writing, I can surf the Internet
and see security vacancies in London,
Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cardiff and
Belfast paying from £7.50 per hour (£7.20 in
Belfast) through to £9.15 (Edinburgh), £9.50
(Manchester), £10.00 (Cardiff), £10.45 (Leeds),
£11.05 (Belfast) and £15.00 (London). Now,
contrast this scenario in the security business
sector with retailer Aldi. For the role of a shop
assistant, that company pays between £9.75
and £10.61 per hour in London and £8.53 and
£10.15 seemingly everywhere else, with no
requirement to undertake licence-linked
training, buy a licence (which is renewable
every three years) or externally patrol buildings
or respond to alarms at two o’clock in the
morning in the pouring rain or freezing cold.
Let’s not forget, either, that working in retail
also means you’re likely to be afforded
employee discounts which can be very
appealing, and especially so if you happen to
be working in a store which is connected to
your leisure time hobbies or interests.
UK’s unemployment rate
In a recent report published by the United
Kingdom Crowd Management Association,
entitled ‘Benchmarking Security and
Stewarding Resourcing’, a figure of a 40%
reduction in renewals of SIA licences was
quoted. Although the Security Industry
Authority (SIA) has since responded to the
report and provided a degree of clarification
and context, the Regulator’s own figures – as
quoted in its latest Approved Contractor
Scheme Update – show that, from the high
point of just after the London 2012 Olympic
Games when there were 224,619 licensed door
supervisors in operation, we’re now down to
201,821 annual renewals. This represents a
drop of just over 10%. Figures for the other
licensable sectors are not quoted.
Standing at just 4.3%, the UK’s
unemployment rate remains at its lowest level
since 1975. Indeed, a senior Office for National
Statistics statistician was recently quoted on
the BBC saying that: “The number of people
aged 16 to 64 not in the labour force because
they’re looking after their family or home is the
An Assessment of Staff
Recruitment and Retention in
the Security Business Sector
One of the biggest challenges currently facing the private
security sector is the initial recruitment and subsequent
retention of high quality individuals. It doesn’t appear to
matter whether the prospective employer is in the Top Ten in
the industry or an SME, or whether it’s guarding or technical
recruitment: there seems to be a worrying dearth of
individuals looking to join the sector. Mike White addresses a
significant problem that must be solved
lowest since records began at less than 2.1
million.” While this may be positive for the
economy as a whole, it presents something of a
challenge for those trying to recruit – and,
thereafter, retain – new security officers.
There’s also the not inconsequential matter
of Brexit uncertainties to be considered, and
how this might affect recruitment or, indeed,
how it might affect our European colleagues
from the other 27 EU Member States currently
working in the sphere of private security
solutions provision.
If we’re going to professionalise the private
security industry and make it a career of first
choice – an objective regularly reiterated by
every Trade Association, representative body or
institute you may care to mention – then we
need to do so across a range of areas.
Training in the sector
As regards training, there’s a significantly better
range of training courses available today than
ever before to allow people to progress through
Mike White MSyI:
Director of The Security
Institute and Head of Risk,
Compliance and Assurance (UK
and Ireland) at G4S
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