What do employers want of security managers? Do they prefer a security and risk qualification, a business MBA, or does any degree suffice?
We ask Peter French, MD of recruitment consultancy SSR Personnel.
He uses the term ‘talent management’ – that is, how does an employer identify, and manage people with talent? "We know historically the security sector in the corporate world has gone by time served rather than academic qualification," Peter said. But: given that perhaps a quarter of all UK job adverts say ‘degree educated’, and the government is striving to put up to half of young people into university, are security people without a degree-level qualification in danger of being taken less seriously? There is not a simple answer. On the one hand, the security manager who wants to stay up to date may seek a risk and security degree or the ASIS Certified Protection Professional (CPP) qualification. Both to be considered as proofs of competence. On the other hand, the employer might ask: how is that security qualification relevant to my business? When chartered security professional status arrives, that you can say you are certified (not certifiable!), will carry its own credibility. Until then, the first thing an employer may look for, from your CV, is that you have a degree: "If you don’t have a degree, I think you are beginning to be disadvantaged in the corporate world." So it’s not enough to think you can keep up to date if you attend a few seminars. Peter says that in general a degree will give someone £3k a year more salary than someone without a degree. Secondly, a specialised degree may sit well with an employer. Peter gave the example of an MBA if you are looking to work in brand protection, with an understanding of protecting the reputation of a brand (from counterfeits, for example). I mentioned the University College London diploma and masters degree in countering organised crime and terrorism. Peter replied that he had spoken with a senior police officer in counter-terrorism who had taken such a degree. You might think that by working in counter-terror the police officer would know all about it? But a degree allows you to study; to come up with logical arguments to progress your corner, to understand what you are doing and how you arrived there.
How to manage
To return to talent management: someone may have never gone to university, but have studied outside of work to develop their opportunities. "Unless you can manage their aspirations, that talent will leave the business." Meanwhile, someone with a degree may have come into the business as a manager. Regardless of what degree they have, have they learned how to manage and motivate people? Even if someone has qualified in risk and manages risk, not people, you can be a bad risk manager. Peter further suggests, if you cannot get senior management’s attention in two paragraphs, you are never going to get them to sign up to what you want.
Sit down
Whether you learn in short bursts, or over the two or more years of distance learning, whether a masters degree or CPP or PSP, Peter ends by suggesting that through study, over a concerted period of time, a manager not only learns, but recalls what they has forgotten, and asks questions, about technology for example. Is that the only solution? Can we apply a better solution ? There may not be, but the trick is to be able to sit down and revalue the proposal. However, the question is whether the busy manager has that time, to devote to their own CPD (continued professional development).
