Ultimately, their expertise, experience and qualifications need to be recognised as a resource which will be available to advance the interests of those working in the security sector, their employers and the community as a whole.
With this in mind, we explain why membership of The Security Institute is vitally important for you.
Security practitioners in management positions have long recognised the need for their abilities to be understood clearly by their employers. This requirement has duly manifested itself in a plethora of Associations, Guilds and Institutes where practitioners are quick to signpost their ‘professionalism’.
The role of security management within both the public and private sectors has changed dramatically over the past 20 years or so, and it’s still evolving. True, it’s abundantly clear that businesses and Government alike are now attaching a far greater importance and value to a properly managed security function. After what happened in America last September, that’s only to be expected.
However, an ever-increasing emphasis on public-private sector partnerships also means that traditional approaches to public law enforcement and private asset protection are frequently blurred. There has also been an increase in the range and nature of academic and vocational security-related qualifications.
Inevitably, this ready mix of qualifications, experience and professional affiliations has confused employers. After all, it must be very tough to compare an ex-senior police officer who has no commercial experience, an ex-Warrant Officer with ten years as an in-house security manager and a graduate with 20 years’ experience as a regional security manager.
There remains a very great need to promote a proper understanding of security and professionalism within the commercial and industrial ranks. Central to this process is what every security manager would like to see – a raised profile for the profession and those who practice it in the eyes of those who come into contact with it.
The Security Institute in context
The good news for all those practitioners who wish to advance standards and aspire to true professional status is that they do indeed have a natural ‘home’ to which they can migrate.
One that enjoys strong, practical support from a range of organisations – including ASIS (UK) Chapter 208, the British Security Industry Association, SITO, the Home Office and a host of corporate sponsors. One that encourages and develops the highest standards of training and education for the longer term benefit of the profession and those it serves, and one that – importantly – offers objective and independent validation of an individual’s experience, qualifications and expertise.
Set up in 1999 by a group of working security professionals, The Security Institute (TSI) is that ‘home’. Its basic aim is to promote wider acknowledgement of the contributions of the security profession in the fields of corporate security, asset protection and community safety in the public service, industrial and commercial sectors – the long-term goal being Chartered status.
Those who join its ranks will be provided with a programme that addresses the issue of validation for security professionals. The programme is designed to assess security management experience, academic qualifications, vocational qualifications and contributions to the security profession. It establishes an independent professional Validation Board, which will validate applications made by individuals seeking to attain a grading in TSI.
The Institute offers a range of membership grades, from Affiliate/Student though to Associate, Member and Fellow. In practice, security managers will be assigned to a tier of membership appropriate to their specific needs, such that employers can determine swiftly and easily the relative merits of candidates for a specific post.
The Validation Board itself represents all the interest groups from within the profession, including academia, corporate security management, Government departments, consultancies, service providers and the training sector.
Benefits of membership
Benefits of membership are numerous. Whether qualified by academic achievement or experience in a security management position, employers and others will have a recognised benchmark against which they can judge your merits. Managers will enjoy the credibility and recognition long accorded to their counterparts in other professions, and have their status and accomplishments acknowledged.
In addition, the Institute provides a powerful voice for the security manager, ensuring that his or her needs are taken into account by central Government and the wider security industry. Importantly, all members of TSI are able to tap into an excellent networking environment whereby they can exchange ideas, information and intelligence. It’s your platform for influencing the way this profession develops in the years ahead.
There remain a number of organisations not yet convinced of the potential benefits of employing professionals in the security role. The Security Institute offers such employers the opportunity to explore ways in which security best practice can be applied to their activities, and the ways in which a professional security manager can add value to their enterprise.
Just as no employer would consider taking on an accountant without any appropriate professional training, the Institute is confident that it can educate organisations to regard TSI’s approach to validation as being equally essential.
The Institute is the only organisation to offer truly objective validation of an individual’s experience, qualifications and expertise. It’s also the only organisation which enjoys the necessary authority to promote the interests of the profession. Join forces with us – for your own personal development and, what’s more, the good of your profession.
