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The expansion of pubs, clubs and restaurants in Britain has left many of them struggling to find qualified door staff, sparking fears that some may either have to close or operate illegally, warns qualification body City & Guilds.
The shortage of good door staff is likely to get worse, City & Guilds says, quoting reports indicating that two-thirds of pubs and bars are expected to extend their drinking hours, when the 24-hour regime allowed by the Licensing Act comes into effect from February. City & Guilds also quotes an expected 10,000 new pubs and bars a year to open in the first three years of round-the clock drinking.
According to Rob Roseveare, security specialist at City & Guilds, club managers and licensees are expecting a ‘door staff drought’ this year as demand exceeds supply. He says: โIf this surplus demand continues, we could well see qualified door staff naming their price in the short term.โ
The drought is particularly acute in the West End of London where licensed premises have grown dramatically since the early 1990s. There are now 3,560 places where you can be served a drink, up by 35 per cent in a decade. Over the past three years, the number of licensed premises in Britain has risen to 113,000 – an increase of three percent. Roseveare said that the door staff shortage had already started to have an impact: โSome venues had to reduce their capacity for parties over the Christmas and New Year period simply because they did not have sufficient door staff at the time. While many licensees have taken a responsible approach towards providing a safe environment for their customers and clubbers, there is concern that others may turn a blind eye by operating without sufficiently qualified door staff.โ
Over the past year, the existing pool of practising door staff has reduced following the Security Industry Authority’s announcement that all door staff must have a licence to practice by April 2005, particularly as this requires applicants to clear a Criminal Record Bureau check. To gain a licence, door staff must also attend a training course leading to a qualification in Door Supervision that is recognised by the SIA. Among the possible awards is the National Certificate for Door
Supervisors awarded by a consortium of awarding bodies – City & Guilds, the British Institute of Innkeeping (BIIAB) and NCFE – which has around 90 per cent of the door supervision market. City & Guilds and its consortium partners have approved a national network of training centres to help provide courses and to increase the number of qualified door staff.
The National Certificate for Door Supervisors aims to give door staff the necessary skills and competencies they need to improve customer care and safety and keep abreast of changes within one of Britain’s fastest growing sectors. This includes training door staff to identify potential risks for conflict and to evaluate situations, as well as how to defuse conflict using non-aggressive techniques.
Roseveare believes that door staff play a vital role in policing Britain’s nightclubs and pubs and deserve greater recognition, adding that the new qualification helps to set acceptable standards of behaviour and enables the licensed hospitality sector to meet the demands of customers.
