Stuart WoodMichael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industry Association, discusses how the shortage of SIA security will impact the events industry.
With the number of licensed security staff falling throughout the UK, and the requirement for SIA security staff needed by licensed premises and event organisers increasing, security companies need to work harder then ever to recruit.
The licensed door supervisor industry has grown over the past few years, with demand growing faster than ever before to supply SIA licensed staff.
In September 2018, there were a total of 231,530 door supervisor licenses granted by the SIA. That sounds a lot, but when you consider the number of licensed premises in the UK, and the changes made to license conditions where SIA security requirements are enhanced, we are pushing the boundaries of the national resource.
A report released in August last year, supported by FSOA (The Football Safety Officers Association) and the UKCMA (United Kingdom Crowd Management Association) showed that since 2013 there has been a 40% drop in SIA licenses being renewed.
The six key reasons cited for the difficulty in retaining security workers were poor rates of pay; irregular work patterns; the casual nature of the workforce; competition; the cost of qualifications; and the availability of
qualified staff.
The report also suggested the event security sector “seems to be struggling with financial viability, which is impacting on pay and training budgets.”
The Night Time & Events Sector as a whole, through changes in licensed conditions and the growing security concerns nationally has driven business to enhance there security requirements.
How do we ensure we have enough resource to satisfy demand?
New initiatives have been developed to introduce people to the security industry, including schemes to support the financing of individual SIA licenses and the introduction of additional free in house training courses.
Is this the answer? If so, we need to act now.