Why Our Security Guards are Better Trained

Shockingly, the UK has some of the poorest security training requirements in the world. We train our guards to a much higher standard than that of our competitors. So what do we do and why?

Length of Training

In the UK in order to become a security guard you must obtain an SIA license. The requirements for obtaining an entry level Security Guarding license in the UK involve a 40 hour (or 3 day) course.

How does this compare to the rest of the world?

In Australia the course to obtain an entry level security license, called the Certificate II in Security Operations (CPP20218) takes around 21 days or 3 weeks to complete. In Kenya the entry level course requires 330 hours of training. Over in the USA unarmed guards at Mall of America require 500 hours of training.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the length of training the UK lags behind even developing nations significantly.

Quality of Training

The quality of training in the UK also lags behind other nations significantly. The SIA course does not include any enhanced verbal de-escalation skills such as Verbal Judo. When it comes to physical skills the endorsed physical intervention course has been largely condemned for not only being inefficient, but also dangerous, opening the officer using those skills up to risk of assault and bodily injury. The course itself lacks any form of Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) training which is vital for security officers.

What We Do Differently

We adopt a much stricter approach to training. All of our officers learn the best tactics and skills that are available. Our training course provides hundreds of hours of additional training to ensure our officers are the best in the industry.

When it comes to counter terrorism we don’t teach “Run Hide Tell”, we teach “Avoid Deny Defend” which provides a much more proactive response that increases your chance of survival in an attack. Many of our officers also travel overseas for enhanced firearms and counter terrorism training that can’t be delivered in the UK.

Taken together, we genuinely believe that our security officers are the best trained security in the UK and that no other company offers this approach.