Here courtesy of Kingdom Security, an ACS Pacesetters contractor, is one security officer’s story.
Marie, pictured, hadn’t always imagined she would end up doing the job of a security officer. She was drawn to the role after hearing about a nearby port in the Scottish Highlands, which was recruiting for officers for the cruise liners. She decided to get in touch.
“I enquired and found you need to do your security training,” she says. “It’s a seasonal job so I made sure I got my training just in time to be able to spend my summer looking after cruise liner passengers.”
After that, Marie was offered a contract at a university student accommodation site as a security officer with Kingdom Security, near to the golf course in Dornoch – rated one of the best in the world.
She says: “I enjoy it. There’s a lot of variety. I keep myself busy. I find it a positive experience for sure.”
Through training she has increased her awareness of gender-based violence and the need for mental health support. She says there’s also a wider culture of support.
There’s no typical day for Marie. If she’s on an early 6am shift, she will get to work early so she is fully prepared and briefed ahead of the handover. Patrolling, sorting out letters and parcels and dealing with student welfare are some of her responsibilities.
She says this is a key part of the role, which can be overlooked by members of the public. “I think most people are quite shocked university accommodation even has security teams,” she says. “People think security are just there to stop parties, but there are more elements to the role.”
And it’s these elements to Marie’s role that can pose challenges.
“When you have antisocial behaviour, it can feel a bit daunting when you’re going in to deal with that,” she says. “But I’ve found I’ve been successful by always treating others with respect and seeing it from their perspective.”
Marie doesn’t think being a woman in a male-dominated industry is a problem. “If you’d have asked me 18 months ago, I’d have thought most security guards are in dangerous roles and that somebody like myself, wouldn’t have fitted in,” she says.
“But it’s so much more than that. It’s about communicating, listening, and using skills that help you navigate problems in everyday life. I think people probably have lack of awareness of the diversity of roles in the security industry. They think of the bouncer on the door, but that’s not all it’s about.”
Marie wants to encourage anyone to get involved in security, but she is particularly keen to see more mature women consider it as a career choice. “Kingdom Security would encourage you to get involved in a security role and particularly if you’ve got something to offer that other people might not have, such as varied life experience,” she says.
About the firm
Kingdom, privately-owned, has UK offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and Belfast. Its head office is in Newton-le-Willows, and it has an operation in India. Group companies offer security, cleaning, recruitment, local authority support such as anti-litter and other environmental nuisance patrolling, healthcare, systems and training. Visit www.kingdom.co.uk.
