Where have all the professional security officers gone?

Somewhat alarmingly, on the 22^nd of November last year, the British Security Industry Association stated that there will be a shortfall of over 60,000 security officers in the UK over the next 12 months.

The role of security officer could not be more important. Protection of people and property is at the heart of everything that they are required to do. There are few jobs as honourable or vital.

So why isn’t there a torrent of eager new people, knocking down doors to join the industry?

There are several factors that are affecting the supply of security officers right now.

Cost

With the ever-growing cost of living and the extraordinary demands on a person’s income, the cost of statutory training, combined with the SIA licence fee, is putting people off entering the industry.

Respect

For several decades now, the media has consistently portrayed security “guards” as lazy, ignorant, disinterested and sometimes dishonest. Be it the sleeping guard at the gatehouse, letting the crooks sneak past, or the bent security guy, taking money from the criminals as their inside man during the heist, the negative portrayals are seemingly endless.

The increase in abuse and violence suffered by security officers in public facing roles has also become frankly scandalous. The public, in many cases, view security personnel as unwelcome authority figures preventing them from having fun, when inevitably they are only there to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those creating the problem.

Alas, negative stereotypes of front line security officers, are not always entirely unjustified. Until recently, the statutory training required by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the industry’s regulatory body, has been woefully inadequate and the testing and qualification regimes have allowed a legion of not particularly bright, unmotivated and unprofessional individuals to gain a licence, and when in a public facing role, they do little to dispel negative perceptions.

Reward

With the huge responsibility resting on the shoulders of the average security officer, you would expect their remuneration to reflect this. Unfortunately, historically, a combination of security companies constantly trying to undercut each other to win contracts, and the widespread availability of licensed security personnel willing to work for the resulting abysmal salaries offered, has led to pay that has spiralled down to minimum wage in many sectors.

Men and women with existing financial commitments are also put off by the pervasive and unappealing zero-hour contracts that do not provide the simple reassurance that there will be a regular income.

Worst of all, when shelf stackers at most of the large UK supermarkets earn £2ph more than security officers in the same areas, and don’t have the responsibility, or face violence and abuse on a regular basis, why would you take a job in security instead?

The Perfect Storm

This combination of the expense of simply getting in to the industry, the ridicule and lack of appreciation from the public, employers, and clients, that is endemic in this country, and the many more well paid options out there, have all played their part in the plummeting availability of new security officers.

So where can I find reliable security officers?

The people you need are out there, but the search to find them is much harder than ever before.

Although there may be a shrinking pool of available security officers, according to official SIA figures there are still high numbers of newly licensed security officers coming through the system. With the new more substantial training requirements and more rigorous testing, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect these new recruits to be largely motivated, engaged and committed to the role of protector, despite the obstacles and disadvantages they may face. So how can you tap in to the stream of new “talent” and attract existing professional security officers?

To engender a team and inclusive atmosphere, do not provide perks to your head office staff that are not available to your front-line officers.

• Think outside the box. With a dwindling pool of security industry professionals available, look OUTSIDE of the industry. Target the disaffected and unhappy that work in other industries. Pay for the training and licensing of new recruits that come from other sectors such as logistics, sales and food and beverage. Employ these individuals on the condition that they work with you for a minimum of 6 months, to qualify for the “free” training and licence funding. Win win.

• Consider offering a genuine training and career development package that would allow you to bring on new recruits on an official apprenticeship basis. These systems may even offer salary subsidies and other benefits to make an apprenticeship more attractive to a new recruit. The best candidates can be placed on a fast track scheme to management level.

• Specialist recruitment companies and services. They can be expensive, but most of the big security companies will always advertise on the bigger online recruitment sites, and you probably should as well.

• Social media. Get your vacancies out there on the many Facebook security work related groups. The reach can be phenomenal.

There is a lot that can be done to find the right people, but possibly, the most important factor will be the basic principle of supply and demand.

With good security officers being hard to find, inevitably the only sure fire way to attract the people you need is to pay them more. There are signs that this is starting to happen. Clients will always view security as a costly annoyance rather than an essential business requirement, and resistance to market forces is astronomical, but with some security companies now refusing to tender for contracts on grounds of cost, and the last of the cowboy, “cash in hand” companies living on borrowed time, salaries can only go one way, and the quality people you need will return.

Get Licensed is the UK’s most prominent security training and staffing platform and has helped over 300,000 customers launch their careers in the security industry.

If you are a security company looking for licensed security staff to support your business, please visit www.guardpass.com/employers to post your job and hire SIA licensed applicants in minutes.