Shaun Murphy, National Operations Manager at EFM Security, has spoken out against the rise in the SIA licence application fee.
Each licence application will now cost £245 – as reported in the February 2007 issue of Professional Security Magazine, a 29pc rise of £55 per licence.
What they say
Shaun says: “Whilst the increases are no great surprise to the industry, it is a tremendous jump in costs. With profit margins being continually pushed down and SIA costs increasing standards will slip, not improve. In addition, recruitment will become even more challenging as staff and companies both count the costs of funding the new licences. In particular causal staff cover is now almost non-existent, paying £245 to allow you to work the odd day here and there is simply not feasible for most people.”
EFM Security reports that it pays for all new members of staff to become trained and licensed in static and retail security and CCTV. However, with what it terms spiralling licence and training costs, retention of these staff is becoming tougher, the company claims. Shaun adds: “Once a security operative is fully trained, they become extremely saleable. Other security companies approach our staff and offer them alternative employment packages, including paying any penalty charges they may incur for leaving the company within three years of training. It now takes three months to train and licence new staff members, which can leave smaller operations with significant staffing issues. Any further application fee increases will seriously impact upon small to medium sized companies, and I believe that in five years time we will be looking at a security industry comprising of ten large companies, maximum – and then where will the competition be? It has taken 20 years to put licensing in place and already it is becoming an expensive bureaucratic process instead of the industry safeguard it was intended to be.”
Shaun concludes: “Our staff have the local knowledge they need to ensure the safety of workers and shoppers within the retail and office environments in which they work. I only hope the SIA thinks of these people, such as my team, when they next review charges and really consider how raising costs will impact upon the industry.”
