Back in April 2013, my article titled the Path to Professionalism was published in this magazine, highlighting a growing desire within the security industry to develop career paths towards becoming a genuine profession, recalls Stuart Williams MSc CSyP FSyI and Panel Registrar for Chartered Security Professional Registration Authority (CSPRA).
In that article I referred to my recent application to become a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP), how I found the process to be efficient, robust, flexible and thorough. I also highlighted my gratitude for the recognition it brought among my work colleagues, who as built environment professionals, while not necessarily understanding much about security, certainly understood what it meant to be chartered.
Growth of the Register
In the last eight years since I was admitted, the Register of Chartered Security Professionals has gone from strength to strength – only last year Mike Edgerton became our 200th CSyP and as at the end of March 2021, we have 207 CSyPs on the Register. We have also transitioned from being primarily UK based to now representing 19 countries, including the USA and Canada, most of Europe and with CSyPs as far away as the UAE, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea; that truly demonstrates the global recognition of the CSyP.
Even from my list of peers, I have seen Hunter Burkall (USA), Aaron Thatcher (USA), Mike Edgerton (USA) and Jean Perois (France) achieve this certification, demonstrating the recognition of the CSyP as the ‘gold standard’ for those operating at the strategic level of security around the world. That diversification has also seen 11 women admitted and the value of the Register has been demonstrated by its formal recognition by the UK official Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), and endorsement by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
The Register has also worked hard to improve the process for candidates. Mentoring workshops are now conducted to help potential candidates better understand the application process and the evidence requirements. In addition to the formal mentoring, many CSyPs are encouraging peers to apply and I have personally helped several along that path – it is genuinely rewarding to see friends and colleagues recognised for their security careers. The Register also began pioneering virtual interviews several years ago to assist with the challenges of international applications, which enabled the process to rapidly transition to successfully respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
Being an Assessor
On a more personal level, shortly after becoming a CSyP, I was invited to become an Assessor. It is a pre-requisite for all Assessors that they are themselves CSyPs and have experienced first-hand passing through the application process, as well as being held to account by a Code of Professional Conduct.
Being based in Abu Dhabi at the time, this enabled interviews to be held regionally for Middle East and Asian candidates, rather than longer and more expensive journeys to the UK. Following specialist assessor training, I fulfilled the role of Observer, then Second Interviewer and eventually Lead Interviewer; as with all elements of the Register, this was part of a defined, rigorous process to ensure I was fit for role.
Through being an Assessor, my initial impression back in 2013 of the process being fair and robust has been significantly reinforced. Each application pack is reviewed by two independent Document Assessors, which is then followed by a briefing and discussion with two Interview Assessors. While the Assessors may meet before to discuss key points of focus and to ensure a smooth interview, each Assessor reports independently to preserve the integrity of the system.
I have had the pleasure of working with many of the Register’s Assessors from across the wide spectrum of security disciplines – all have been calm, good listeners, with a strong emphasis on helping each candidate to demonstrate the necessary evidence to be appointed to the Register. It is most definitely not a case of ‘pulling up the ladder’, in fact my experience has shown the opposite.
As it was once explained to me, ‘the decision has been made that there is enough evidence within the application to warrant an interview, our job is to help tease that out from the candidate’. I have found the role as an Assessor immensely rewarding, meeting such a diverse group of security practitioners from around the world. While the process attempts to closely match at least one of the Assessors with an applicant’s area of expertise, the diversity within our industry is vast and it is always a pleasure to talk to colleagues, often internationally based, to understand their interesting roles, experience and achievements.
It is also not possible for an Assessor to predetermine the outcome of the interview or the final result of the application process. On occasions I have recommended that candidates should not be admitted as I assessed they had not met the satisfactory level of evidence, to later see that they had successfully been admitted to the Register (and vice versa). While the interview is an important part of the process, it is only part of a more comprehensive assessment process, and the Assessors do not see the final score, only the ratings that they complete in the assessment form.
That level of robustness, transparency and fairness is taken further by the appeal process, which allows candidates to challenge the result to the Registrar and ultimately also to the Chairman of the Register. Not only does the Registrar have direct access to the full documentation pack, but they will also speak directly to the candidate to understand the rationale behind their appeal.
Your industry needs you!
As a result of the growth of the Register and the increase in applications and training workshops, there is an ever-growing need for CSyPs to step up as Document and Interview Assessors. I can only say please come forward, you will not regret being part of the process; it is only right to give something back to our industry and to help the next tranche of applicants reach our gold standard of recognition.
This growth has also required additional support to David Gill as the Registrar, and I was delighted at the start of the year to be appointed to the Registrar Panel along with Garry Evanson. Unfortunately, to maintain the integrity of the application process, I now must step away from my Assessor role, which I have very much enjoyed for the last eight years. However, I will now assist in the training of Assessors, the review of applications and the conduct of appeals, so I will remain at the heart of the Register’s decision-making process. In my new role I will also be able to encourage and develop our ever-progressing path to professionalism and to ensure that the Register remains as the ‘gold standard’ of competence in the security industry.
If you would like to find out about the standards and process of becoming a CSyP, visit www.charteredsecurityprofessional.org or why not sign up for one of the free CSyP Workshop webinars that will talk you through the competencies and experience that candidates require. The next one is on June 3. Any questions, contact Victoria Smith at the Security Institute, ring 02476 346464 or [email protected].
