Security: a professional sector?

Effective security training is key to professionalising the security sector

Angus Darroch-Warren BA (hons) MSc CSyP FSyL PSP

The perennial debate, whether the security sector can be described as a profession and those who work in it as professionals, will only be settled when the necessary professional traits are in place. This includes certification based on competency, university level training and education and the development of skills based on sector knowledge. We are moving towards meeting these requirements and the Register of Chartered Security Professionals (CSyP), the ‘Gold Standard’ for practitioners, is an example of how the sector is moving to meet these requirements.

The continued professionalisation drive has led to the development of a number of vocational security courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, while the more enlightened private training companies now align their courses with the National Qualification Framework (NQF) and link their courses, through credit values, to recognised higher education establishments and their academic programmes.

Effective, quality training in various security skill sets is therefore an integral part of professionalisation and key to business success - many businesses already recognise that investing in training has a positive impact on improving staff knowledge and skills.

However, some are less aware that good quality training has much wider reaching benefits than teaching core operational skills or ensuring compliance with mandatory licensing requirements. Providing good quality training for employees demonstrates that staff are valued by the business and is instrumental in staff retention, boosting staff morale as well as improving the bottom line.

Security professionals are more aware than ever of the importance of having sound knowledge and understanding of their field, however it is easy to overlook the importance of also developing a versatile, transferable skill set alongside expertise in a chosen discipline. In fact, transferable skills should be a key component of any rounded CV particularly in a challenging economic climate where the ability to demonstrate viable transferable skills will provide a significant competitive advantage. Examples of transferable skills include (but are in no way limited to) business management and financial skills, leadership, people management, evaluation/critical thinking, information gathering/research and communication skills.

Delivery of training has developed over the years and with increasing workloads and fewer opportunities to take time out of work, it can be difficult to find time to learn, particularly in a sector with irregular work schedules and a lot of travel. Thankfully, the days where the only way to get a qualification is to attend a college once or twice a week are gone. Many flexible learning options are now available, with distance and online learning gaining popularity.

Distance learning can be as effective as traditional face-to-face teaching when delivered correctly; this includes good quality materials, a high standard of support from tutors, and appropriate and timely feedback on assignments. Distance learning is used for a wide range of training from short courses taking a few hours to complete to postgraduate qualifications lasting a few years. Distance learning via e-learning, in particular, is increasingly in demand as all the relevant course materials and contact with tutors can be accessed using the internet.

The UK’s Security institute’s Certificate and Diploma security management programmes are both delivered online and bear testimony, through the increasing numbers of learners undertaking the courses, how quality e-learning is now recognised and can bring tangible benefits to learners.

From a practical point of view, distance learning courses often require a heavier investment in the development of learning materials than face-to-face training - interactive elements, such as online videos, take time to produce and can be costly. It must also be remembered that high quality written materials remain the bedrock of any effective distance learning courses and authors may need to learn new styles and/or develop new skills to ensure material is appropriate for use in a virtual learning environment. Maintaining the tutor-learner relationship must also be considered as the availability of tutors and their ability to respond to queries quickly is essential to supporting learners; it is therefore important to consider how and when learners can contact tutors.

Given the wide ranging benefits of distance learning, why should anyone choose face-to-face learning? Face-to-face learning remains a popular method of learning (the school and university systems are good examples here) and there are a number of advantages to face-to-face teaching that are difficult to replicate effectively within a distance learning programme.

The first reason is quite simple: some people are just better suited to or prefer face-to-face learning; different people learn in different ways and face-to-face teaching suits some learning styles more than others.

Motivation is a big factor too. It can be difficult to remain focused on distance learning, particularly when this is completed part time. Life becomes a fine balance between studying and other priorities and sometimes this has a big impact on motivation and enthusiasm. One of the biggest advantages of face-to-face learning therefore is the relatively shorter time in which training can be delivered. Focusing exclusively on learning can be an exciting and rewarding experience and it is much easier to keep motivation high over a shorter timeframe.

There are, of course, some skills that are easier to learn face-to-face than via distance learning - it would be very difficult to learn to deep sea dive without putting on a diving suit on and jumping into the sea! From a security sector viewpoint, skills such as security surveying, conducting investigations, interviewing and specifying security technology need to be taught using practical, hands on methods such as scenario based instruction. Learning by doing has proved a popular and effective delivery method although this does not preclude supplementing ‘classroom’ learning with some on-line teaching on theory (i.e. blended learning).

Face-to-face learning provides opportunities to learn informally as well as formally - learners often learn from each other, sharing individual experience, anecdotes and informal opinions about topics can be useful discussion points.  The spontaneous questions arising from group discussions often provide interesting learning points. The discussions in security management courses often bring up key learning points which can be analysed in relation to an individual’s working environment and the specific risk profiles of their organisation.

During face-to-face training tutors not only have a chance to use interactive methods of learning such as role play and scenario based exercises, they are also able to express their enthusiasm about a subject in a more animated way. It is also easier for the tutor to gauge the level of understanding throughout the course as part of the assessment process – they simply need to look around and judge body language rather than assess the nuances of language used in email or how someone sounds on the telephone. Spending time with the learner will allow for one to one sessions to address perceived weaknesses, something not usually available in a distance learning programme.

Investing in training is readily accepted as key for any business. However, training budgets have been stretched to their limits over the past few years as the economy has slowed down. In some cases, this has led to companies foregoing training altogether. In others, focus has been placed on getting value for money, which often leads to poor quality training if cost reduction is valued over quality. An over-emphasis placed on getting the maximum number of people through the training rather than concentrating on developing the key skills of core staff is also a potential problem, particularly as generic training is unlikely to meet anyone’s needs fully. Businesses need to look beyond the training itself and to the people they are training, they need to consider what the key security skills are that need to be developed.

Contrary to popular belief, training is actually more important during an economic downturn. A stiff economic climate puts pressure on businesses to boost efficiency. Businesses need to be highly skilled, innovative, and adaptive to succeed. By association staff are likely to need a wider variety of skills and tools to do their job and it is important to support their personal development through high quality vocational training.