It felt like ‘ladies who do lunch’, Una Riley writes, when she recently met up with Di Thomas, General Manager of the Security Institute at a posh hotel in London.
As we sat on a huge enveloping comfy sofa, sipping our Earl Grey tea, it became a bit of a struggle to define who was interviewing who? I was desperate to interview Di as not only one of the prominent women in security but also to talk about her role within the institute. Whilst she was also trying to interview me on becoming a recent Fellow (of the Institute) and wanting me to complete what seemed like a lot of forms along with Q and As! Now I am not one for filling out forms and obviously looked horrified at the sight of all this paperwork, so I quickly asked her to outline the set-up and how long she had been with the institute. Di replied: "I’ve been with the Security Institute now since late in November 2005, when there were 300 members on the books. We’re now up to a few short of 1000, which takes three times the amount of looking after and support. Since January when we merged with the International Institute of Security, I’ve also had Paula Stanbridge working alongside me (‘virtually’ – she’s actually in Paignton!) to support the organisation, but it’s a real struggle trying to juggle everything that needs to be done. The good news is the directors are fully behind us, and they’re in the process of sorting out a lease on new office space – the first real home for the Security Institute. We’ll soon be able to establish a new HQ based in the Midlands, and then we’ll be able to think about recruiting more help. It will also give us a base for the institute to work from – not just the admin people – which will become more important as our lobbying activity and plans for growth expand.” I enquired about her latest projects. "Apart from the back-office issues of moving and expanding, I’m involved in two major projects. The first is the launch of student membership and the accompanying mentoring scheme in September. We’ve had initial talks with four of the universities who offer security-related qualifications (Leicester, Loughborough, Portsmouth and Bucks New) and all are keen to work with us. This is an on-going project and will be rolled out over the next couple of months, and it’s the first time I’ve been involved in launching a new type of membership. <br><br>Message for corporates<br><br>The other project is an even bigger challenge, but vitally important to the institute. Since the beginning, one of our key aims is to work outside the security community to take the message of professionalism in security practice out into the corporate world. We want to show CEOs and HR directors, as well as senior players in the public sector, what a real security professional is and what can be expected of them. The institute should be as familiar to the CEO as is the Law Society and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. It’s always been one of our main objectives, and we think the time is right to really start spreading the word. In my experience, asking for volunteers can sometimes get you an extra pair of hands or two, and whilst we do need more general help, what we also need now are a few more ideas on how to get our message across, and help with ‘opening doors’. This is where my in-depth interviews with Fellows of the Security Institute come in. In the main people who attain Fellowship in the Institute believe passionately in our ideals. They are very experienced and knowledgeable, well connected, and usually ready and willing to put something back in to the profession. I don’t necessarily know people’s backgrounds and specialisms, and what contacts and influence they have outside the security community, and by spending time on a one-to-one basis I’m hoping to unhook something in particular that each Fellow can do to help take the institute forward. It’ll take time, and I’m certainly not going to turn down any good offers of help in the interim, but the connections and ideas that Fellows have will, I’m sure, help us to appeal to the wider community and get our message across.” <br><br>I volunteer<br><br>It was at this stage that we went back to the forms; the good thing is that the ‘Fellowship’ forms were indeed only Q&As. We started to motor through them and at the end of the process Di had accessed just the type of job she wanted me to do on behalf of the institute: I am now a ‘volunteer’ with the new student project! Di works extremely fast; it is clear to see how the membership has grown and the institute profile has developed these past few years. I wanted to know how many female ‘Fellows’ of the Institute there were. I was told that were 11 and I understand that of these; several are already involved with ‘volunteering’ , doing valuable work. Di started to reel off some of the names of the 11. "Emma Shaw is a director, and performs the key role of co-ordinating all of the registrar activity for the Validation Board (they are the people who prepare the draft scoring of each new applicants, and present the outcome to the Validation Board meetings). Sharon Williams is a member of the Validation Board, who discusses and agrees the scores from the applicants, and recommend grading levels to the Main Board for approval. Dr Alison Wakefield is also a director, and is a member of the Academic Board building links with higher education, and delivering our qualification programme; and Dr Karen Gill, was the newest female Fellow before you.” <br><br>Girls’ effort<br><br>Is that Prof Martin Gill’s wife? Di replied: "Yes, and she runs the institute training programmes, which is written by the institute and delivered by Perpetuity, and results in students getting either the Certificate or Diploma in Security Management qualification, and membership of the institute. We also have Jessica Park who became a life-member of the institute in 2006 and Mary Owour who runs our training and qualification franchise in Kenya…Not a bad effort from the girls!" I’m impressed…but what about the others? Di replied: "I have started to contact all the female Fellows regarding pledges of help…and we are doing very well to date! I asked Di, now that the core recruitment of the institute has been done, what is your next move? Di replied: "It’s going to be a very exciting time as I move my energies away from recruiting and setting up the back office systems into a more outward-looking aspect – building links, learning how other successful organisations have done it, meeting and getting to know more about our membership. This work will also have another key benefit –that of strengthening our position as we work towards preparing for chartered status. There’s lots of work to be done before we are ready to petition the Privy Council, but we have several work streams concentrating on different aspects, and it’s a great time to be involved." <br><br>Going for chartered status<br><br>Has the Institute always had chartered status in their sights? Di replied: "Indeed it has, there has been a lot of work done regarding this position and it feels right that the Institute should seek chartered status on behalf of the profession." The waitress came over and asked if we would like more tea? Both Di and I looked at each other and decided that a gin and tonic would be more preferable. As we came to the end of our meeting feeling very relaxed Di was still enthused about the institute and the changes that were occurring, even down to the forms that she had been information gathering from. She went on to explain that all new Fellows from now on would be interviewed regarding their perception of the institute. Di’s objective is to match these expectations with the reality. The Security Institute is working hard to develop the profile of the profession and is contributing to the validation of security professionals by assessing security management experience, academic qualifications, vocational qualifications and other contributions to the security profession. Given the drive and the energy that exudes from the organisation I have no doubt that the Security Institute will succeed in their ambition to attain chartered status … I wish them well. <br><br>For more about the institute: ring Di Thomas on 08453 707717, or email her at [email protected]. Visit:
