INDUSTRY TRAINING
Security Training and Professional Development SIG The NZSA Special Interest Group for Training and Professional Development within the Security Industry met virtually on 28 August. This is an abridged version of the report of the meeting submitted by Chairperson Andy Gollings. Conflict management training Skills approved trainers Skills have published a list of approved security instructors for conflict management (COA) training, which is available on their website. It is important that security providers ensure those providing their training are approved, as nonapproved trainers will not be able to register NZQA credits on trainee records of learning. Security industry training survey In July the NZSA conducted a survey of industry stakeholders seeking feedback on a range of industry training based questions. The response was very pleasing with 97 responses from a wide crosssection of industry providers, trainers and customers. Due to Covid-19 related distractions we are still analysing the data, however several key responses include:
Training SIG Chair Andy Gollings.
October/November 2020
• 54 percent of respondents state they are not fully aware of training available within the industry. • 77 percent of respondents state current industry training only partly meets industry needs (48 percent) or does not meet industry needs (29 percent). • 32 percent of respondents state that the accessibility of industry training is a significant barrier to the effective delivery of training. • 35 percent of respondents state that funding is a barrier to the effective delivery of training. • 92 percent of respondents would like the capability to train and assess staff internally. • 80 percent of respondents support the introduction of a refresher training requirement in conjunction with the five yearly COA licence renewal. These are concerning statistics which demonstrate that our industry has a significant opportunity to improve and a need for greater collaboration to ensure that we do so. Call centre qualifications The NZ Certificate in Contact Centre (NZCiCC) Level 3 qualification is available for delivery to Monitoring Centre Operators, including those new to their roles and more experienced operators. The qualification covers core skills such as techniques for listening, technical skills and how to gather information
with content specific to a monitoring centre environment. The qualification is delivered in-house at a cost of $350 + GST using an external assessor or $150 + gst for those with approved internal assessors. For more information contact AndreaR@skills.org.nz. Comments from the Chair Over recent times we have seen demand for security services grow. This has seen people repurposed from other industries who are stepping up and helping us raise the standards. Key users of security services appear to be seeing the value in paying a living wage. This is an area of opportunity for our industry to make a significant shift. If we are able to create real career pathways and have security staff see the value in growing within the industry, we will be able to provide that trusted level of professional security officer that New Zealand needs. We need to work together to improve the conditions and opportunities available to our teams and in return demand the professionalism that our clients expect. We are committed to raising industry standards and your feedback and input is essential. Please direct any questions or concerns that you have to the NZSA so that we can work together to ensure our customers and our staff are provided the quality support that they deserve.
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