Research – who needs it? writes Bob Doyle, Director of Commercial Services at Skills for Security.
Uncovering accurate information about our industry is notoriously difficult. Many people and organisations have views on the size and profile of the security sector but hard data to back up opinions and assumptions is extremely scarce. Why this should be is, perhaps, a reflection of the nature of the business: we are used to keeping information secure and are reluctant to divulge anything that we are not obliged to – knowledge is power and we want to keep it for ourselves and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands!
Nevertheless, to fight our corner and ensure that the size, importance and contribution that the security sector makes to both the physical and financial security of UK plc is recognised in the corridors of power, and to make our voice heard in the clamour for government funding and consideration, we must be able to present cogent arguments backed up by reliable statistics and demonstrable facts.
That’s why Skills for Security has a research department with a remit to ferret out those facts and figures to support the arguments, influence our decisions and inform the industry.
Skills for Security researchers use a number of sources to help build a picture of the UK security industry. These include accessing publicly available government data, garnering information from trade associations about the profile of their membership, talking to professional bodies and analysing statistics from organisations, like the SIA, who gather relevant information. We also talk to employers through our network of consultation groups, which represent the various sub-sectors and that comprise the industry as a whole in each of the four countries of the UK.
Most recently research was conducted to aid the development of a qualifications strategy for the sector. This is work of major importance to everyone in the industry because the strategy document will be used to determine the future direction of learning and qualifications. Importantly, it will also heavily influence whether or not employers will be able to access the training they want and government funding to assist with its cost.
This research concluded that somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 people are employed in a security capacity in the UK. These figures take into account all of the specialisms, all of the grades and both contracted and directly-employed personnel. We still can’t be precise or certain about the figures, but this is believed to be the most accurate figure produced to date.
Other extrapolations indicate that there are over 100,000 event-stadium stewards who do not usually appear in security industry data, and anything up to another 100,000 "private investigators" ranging from the traditional, fast disappearing, stereotype to investigators of complex financial fraud.
The research also uncovered some differences between the profile of the security workforce and the rest of the working population:
ß 17pc of the industry is made up of non-white ethnic groups, as opposed to the 7pc average for the whole of the UK workforce.
ß 84pc of security roles are held by men, compared to 53pc in industry as a whole.
ß Only 9pc of the security workforce is aged between 16 to 24 years. The average for the rest of industry is 14pc.
As we explained earlier, the purpose of the research was to inform a sector qualifications strategy for the industry and so, as well as collecting data about the profile of the workforce, we were asking employers about the current skill levels of their staff and future skills requirements to maintain and improve service delivery standards. Four areas were identified consistently by employers as requiring immediate improvement:
ß Customer service skills
ß Oral and written communication skills
ß Opportunities for continued development
ß Leadership and management training
The interesting point about this cry for help is that there are plenty of generic training programmes covering customer service, leadership and management and communication skills. What we are not sure from the findings is why employers are not using them to address the skills gaps they have identified. Is it that they are unaware of what’s available? Or is what’s out there not what they actually want? Further research is needed.
In terms of continued development we have compiled information about the range of security related qualifications available. At this stage it may be helpful to explain the different levels of qualifications and put them into context. There are some differences in Scotland where there is a different qualifications framework to the rest of the UK:
ß Level 1: Equivalent to GCSE’s Grades D to G
ß Level 2: Equivalent to GCSE Grades A to C
ß Level 3: Equivalent to A Levels
ß Level 4: Specialised training
ß Level 5 and above: University degrees
There are a reasonable number of qualifications at Level 2 (The minimum requirement for most licensable sectors and security NVQs), fewer at Levels 3 and 4 and a small variety of degree qualifications related specifically to our industry, though plenty of generic "management" degrees.
The research identified a demand for supervisory and junior-middle management training. Most of this is designed and delivered by in-house training departments – which, while it may be of very good standard, is currently not measurable in the same way that training linked to national qualifications can be benchmarked.
The severe shortage of women employed at operative, supervisory and management levels has long been recognised and, although gradually improving, the outlook is still poor. Similarly, insufficient young people are being attracted, creating a further imbalance and reinforcing the traditional image of a staid, unimaginative sector. Whilst lower age limits must be applied to some security occupations, in others it may be that recruitment strategies need to be re-thought to directly target these underrepresented groups., Further progress could be made on creating new apprenticeships and making the existing ones more attractive, and looking again at opportunities for flexible working hours, split shifts and job sharing.
OK, so research can’t come up with simple solutions to the problems that we, the industry, have grappled with for years. But it does provide the opportunity to clarify our thinking, test whether our assumptions are correct and help us to make informed decisions about the future. Who needs it? We all do!
For further information
About the research facility available from Skills for Security or for further details about research projects already done by the skills body email [email protected]
