NZSA CEO’s September Report

INDUSTRY NZSA CEO’s September Report

In this update, NZSA CEO Gary Morrison talks Covid-19 Managed Isolation Facilities, New Zealand Security Awards, virtual reality CoA training platform, security career pathway website and more.

Gary Morrison is CEO of the New Zealand Security Association (NZSA). A qualified accountant, Gary originally joined Armourguard Security as a junior accountant and held several roles over two decades prior to appointment as GM for New Zealand and Fiji, after which he established Icon Security Group.

Similar to many of my associates and colleagues, I take great pride in our industry and the people who work within it.

Over the last six months I have observed the industry as a whole, including employers and employees, stand up and deliver essential services to a high standard despite what have been extremely difficult economic and social conditions.

My views were further reinforced by the number of quality nominations that we received for the Covid-19 Guardian Awards and the New Zealand Security Awards over recent months.

I have found it very difficult and challenging therefore to deal with and respond to the recent negative coverage targeted at the industry in relation to the provision of security services at the Managed Isolation Facilities (MIF’s).

There is absolutely no doubt that perceptions and opinions, be it of politicians, the press or the public, are influenced by wider issues and events that are largely inconsequential to the matter at hand. In our situation we faced a backdrop of major shortfalls and deficiencies in the delivery of private security providers in Melbourne.

The security model used in Melbourne was however significantly different to that used in New Zealand - in Melbourne all security at the MIFs was delivered by three private security providers using a multitude of subcontractors. Locally, private security makes up approximately 25% of those on site at the MIF’s and services are delivered by a number of providers rather than subcontractors.

Opinion was also influenced by regular press reports of guards being found asleep and working dual roles as uber drivers. The reality is that there was a handful of security staff caught sleeping early in the commencement of services, several of whom were employed by Aviation Security, but allegations of staff working dual roles appear to be unfounded.

What also goes unseen and unrecognised are the efforts made by security providers to address any shortfalls and seek continuous improvement, such as implementing 15-minute welfare checks during night hours and implementing new technology to monitor staff locations and welfare.

Whilst supporting the efforts of our providers and their staff, I am also aware that there is a need to accept and acknowledge that there is much that the industry needs to do if we are to change existing perceptions and consistently deliver a quality level of service.

It is evident that a significant number of private security staff working at the MIF’s are still on their blue ‘temporary’ licenses. Whilst some of these staff will have had delivery of the green “full” licenses delayed by Covid-19 restrictions, the reality is that many will not have completed the mandatory training requirements since commencing employment. This is not acceptable and must be addressed urgently by those security providers concerned.

Similarly, there is a clear need for some security providers to lift their recruitment standards and processes to ensure that workers are fit for purpose. This also includes electronic security providers and the need to cultivate and develop new entrants into the industry rather than the traditional bringing in workers from overseas and poaching between providers.

From an association perspective it is clear that we need to further improve our relationship with government and government agencies and to look at strategies and initiatives that will further promote best practice within the security industry.

The events over the last six months haven’t dented my pride in the industry but they have been a timely reminder that while we have achieved a lot over recent years, we still have much to achieve.

New Zealand Security Awards Due to Covid-19 restrictions this year’s event was live streamed on the NZSA website from the Vidcom recording studio in central Auckland.

Our MC Te Radar was again superb in the role and together with DJ Lo Key brought a high level of professionalism and entertainment to the evening.

Our winners on the evening are provided later within the newsletter but congratulations to all who were nominated and to those who took the time to submit nominations.

Our viewing statistics show 290 live views and 150 post-event on demand views, however with the number of employer hosted parties with multiple viewers it is probable that individual viewer numbers were well in excess of 750 - a fantastic number by all measures.

It is our intention, restrictions allowing, to host next year’s event at the Christchurch Town Hall but with live streaming of the awards presentation so that we can involve those unable to be present on the night.

Special mention and thanks to our Event Sponsor Gallagher, Support Partner Skills and all of our Award category sponsors.

New Zealand Security Good Practice Guideline

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, the Good Practice Guideline was launched in June.

It has been very pleasing to receive positive feedback on the document from a range of stakeholders including security providers, training organisations, industry customers and government agencies.

We currently have a working group developing an additional section specific to Event Security and expect to have it available for release within the next few months.

NZSA member benefit programmes This year we have launched four new benefit programmes, once specifically targeted around business advice and support re Covid-19, however the others are intended to provide long term and quantifiable benefit and value to our members.

Each of the HR Advisory Service, Speak Up Line and Business Continuity Plan benefits are provided free of charge to our members and with the intention of ensuring our members have access to best practice advice and support across areas that are critical to business.

For more information on member benefits please refer to later details within this newsletter.

Virtual reality training platform This is a joint initiative between the NZSA and MSD and whilst the development of the VR training platform for delivery of the COA mandatory training has taken some time, it is nearing completion and we are still confident of an October launch.

We have had the opportunity to view screen versions of the first cuts from the virtual reality scenarios and even without the benefit of

the headsets that fully immerse the learner in the situation, the training delivery provides a marked difference and improvement on the role play simulations traditionally used for training purposes.

The next few months will involve further input from a small group of subject matter experts, including Skills, to ensure both content and delivery are 100% throughout. We will also be formalising the rollout programme and pricing models.

Watch out for further announcements over the coming month!

MSD and NZSA Skills for Industry Programme As advised in our last newsletter, we are pleased to have signed a new contract with MSD under the Skills for Industry initiative that will see the NZSA team tasked with placing 200 candidates into full-time employment within the security industry over the coming year.

A key change in our contract sees our focus shift from working with those on benefits, to the newly unemployed, or likely to become unemployed, due to the impacts of Covid-19. Many of the candidates we are now working with have come from roles within the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors and they bring with them considerable customer service ethos and skills.

We can also announce that following the launch of the VR training platform, the NZSA will ensure that all candidates receive their mandatory training on the platform and have their full licence, at our cost, as part of the placement service.

If you require any staff on a fulltime basis (30+ hours per week), contact Andrea at andrea@security. org.nz to discuss how the programme works and the support payments that we can offer to assist with additional training and induction costs.

Security career pathway website Our work with candidates seeking employment opportunities has highlighted an industry weakness in that we have very limited resources that talk to the different roles and opportunities that exist within the security industry, or the career pathways that can be followed.

For many individuals, mention of the security industry immediately brings to mind a mental picture of a burly guard outside a bank or tackling a pitch invader at a football match.

This detracts from our ability to attract a diverse and skilled workforce that can meet our resource demands going forward, including our ability to attract school leavers and graduates.

The NZSA is currently working to develop a stand-alone website, securitycareers.co.nz, that will provide a comprehensive and structured introduction to roles within the industry and career pathways.

It will also include information on skill set requirements, training requirements and options, indicative pay scales and possible pathways into other industry sectors such as Corrections, Police and cyber. Development timelines are still be to finalised however we are confident of a launch this calendar year.

As you can see, we have a lot on the go currently with the VR training platform and career pathways website development, but I’m sure you’ll agree that these will provide a significant step forward for the industry and hopefully go some way towards influencing public perceptions and lifting service delivery standards as mentioned within my opening comments.

As always, we welcome all comments and feedback.