Besides its quarterly day conferences in London, the UK chapter of security management body ASIS aims to run breakfast briefings for members in the regions.
One is running at Bristol on Friday, October 22; the Manchester one on Thursday, August 13, drew a goodly number to the Imperial War Museum North at Salford Quays for coffee and a bite to eat from 7.45am.<br><br>Hosts and sponsors of the morning were guarding contractor Advance Security, who were the north west security team of the year in this year’s annual BSIA officer awards. Pictured after the event are speakers Paul Keeling of Senate Training; Heather Hobden of ICON Business Solutions; ASIS UK vice-chairman Graham Bassett; Matthew Howard of Advance; and northern event organiser Tim Hodges CPP PSP of Access Ability (UK). <br><br>Talking of CPP and PSP, some of the attenders were there partly so as to gain points towards being able to keep their CPP or PSP qualifications without having to re-take the examination. <br><br>With characteristic enthusiasm former senior policeman Paul Keeling described AEO status – Authorised Economic Operators being able to clear their goods through customs more quickly, and thus saving money. Senate (www.senatetraining.co.uk) won a Skills for Security (SfS) contribution to skills development and training award, featured in the December 2009 print issue of Professional Security. Briefly, HM Revenue and Customs auditors assess companies – whether hauliers, import agents or anyone in the supply chain seeking to put goods through customs – on security measures. Senate has written the level 3 BTec (going higher-level shortly, Paul Keeling added) Edexcel accredited qualification, being taken up internationally, for HMRC staff to pass to be able to security-audit sites. <br><br>Heather Hobden offered among other things a checklist for you to make a ‘pitch’, whether you are a security person within an organisation or the salesman of a security product or service selling to customers. <br><br>Noticeable was that after the formal part of the briefing, several returned to the IWM North cafeteria to carry on conversations. <br><br>Diary dates – <br><br>ASIS autumn UK chapter meeting, September 15, Nomura, London (the bank’s new, Thameside, head office). <br><br>Breakfast briefing, October 22, Avon and Somerset Police headquarters, Portishead, near Bristol. <br><br>ASIS winter UK chapter meeting, December 9, Nomura. <br><br>2011 quarterly UK chapter meetings, March 17, June 16, September 15 and December 8. Venues to be finalised.
