Human resources are the most critical asset of an organisation. For this reason, successful organisations develop strong policies for the training and development of their employees to ensure that those assets are of the highest quality in terms of relevant job knowledge and skills.The private security industry in T&T has mushroomed into a significant alternative provider of protection and security services in this economy. However, there is a wide disparity in the skills-set and other facets of the manpower employed in the industry and perhaps the time has come for a closer look at some key human resource issues in the sector.
The recent issuance by the Government of a draft Private Security Industry Bill signals an intent to regulate this industry and to go further to professionalise private security services through requirements for training and the setting of practical standards for the certification of security personnel. This is a welcome step and can only augur well for the many employees who depend on this sector for employment on a sustainable basis.HR research today shows that in order to build a high-performance workforce, employers have two options: they can recruit the right talent from the outset or they can recruit and then train the personnel in the right skill sets. The second option is more applicable to the security industry since there is a large pool of available unskilled labour from which to recruit but which will require considerable investment in training in order to develop the resources to the quality and standard necessary to deliver quality service.
As such, even before the private Security Bill becomes law, employers in the industry could begin to take an in-depth look into the specialised training needs for their recruits. This is where the training providers in the industry can play a role in designing an appropriate entry-level certificate course. Such entry-level certification requirement should apply consistently across the board in all security firms thereby establishing a common standard. Similar consistency should apply to the other job titles in the classification structure of the firms.
This is an important consideration if the private security industry is to position itself as a significant employment sector in the economy thereby opening up yet another avenue to provide employment for our youths at the post-secondary level. So many youths today look to the trades for first employment, as well as the hospitality and services sector and even construction and transport. The private security industry sector, if formalised, can be another significant player in sustainable employment creation.The range of activities in the private security industry is wide: the entry level security guard at the booth or at the front desk is the most visible occupation but there are many other jobs emanating, for example, from security patrol services, armed and canine services, security escort services, bodyguard services, crowd-control, collection and transportation of cash, alarm monitoring and rapid response, property protection and the good old private eye/private investigation services.
The proposed Bill in the Schedule at section 4 outlines the full range of security services peculiar to this industry. It would be useful if these exciting career opportunities can be made known to secondary school students through career fairs and online career databases.There is a wide range of competencies which security employees should possess, such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, customer service and conflict resolution skills and mental alertness, to name a few. A key consideration also is job enrichment to remove the apparent boredom which the entry level jobs tend to portray. No effort should be spared to establish a brand that reflects the crispness and professionalism akin to the police and para-military brand after which they are patterned. Improved skills and competencies, entry level certification, role clarity and job enrichment are just a few of the human resource issues which the industry must address urgently.
The Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety provides training and professional development programmes. info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com