The Professional: Ngaire Kelaher

PEOPLE IN SECURITY The Professional: Ngaire Kelaher

It may not have been her first choice of career, but Ngaire Kelaher’s journey in security has provided her with decades of work fulfillment. And as the first ever female (and Maori) chair of ASIS International New Zealand Chapter, she is showing other women the opportunities this multifaceted industry can offer.

Joanna Mathers is a freelance feature writer with years of experience in publishing. She has a particular focus on business and innovation, and also regularly writes for New Zealand Herald’s Canvas magazine.

South Auckland born and raised, Kelaher’s high school dream was to become a cop. Friends and family convinced her that security training was a great first step towards realising this goal: she laughs when she remembers the early conversations.

“I was hearing [from many different people] that security was stepping-stone to becoming a cop. I still have no idea if that’s true!”

With this eventuality in mind, she enrolled in a training course after she left school, at the New Zealand Security Industry Association (NZSIA) in the mid 1990s. The course offered in-depth training, including street survival, first aid and security law; as well as the raft of report writing and admin required for the industry.

As part of the course, Kelaher worked (both overtly and covertly) in stores and malls in South Auckland. She was good at the undercover work, but as a South Auckland local, she soon started being recognised by recidivist offenders whom she had issued trespass notices to or caught shoplifting.

“I was spotted out with my young family when we were shopping in the area,” she says. “It was starting to become a bit of an issue.”

Looking for a change of locale, she was made aware of a position at TSS security services, a company run by Shirley Greer, in the mid-to-late 1990s. One of her main gigs here was security services at Westhaven Marina (she says that the nights here were eye-opening).

“I had a bike for this job so I got a free workout and a tan,” she chuckles.

There were also jobs at events like Fashion in the Field, event security giving her another string to her bow.

The period at TSS also marked a transition into an area where she would really make her mark in the security industry, as an educator. At the time there was little training for security professionals, Greer was looking to set up some formal training as an adjunct to her security firm, and she was shoulder-tapped for a position.

“I really didn’t see it as my thing, I was a guard. And I couldn’t use the photocopier or even do filing!”

Nevertheless, Kelaher undertook her own training as an assessor, becoming registered in this field. This allowed her to take people through the assessment process, looking at unit standards and ensuring the security professionals were adhering to these standards.

Security training would eventually become NZQA approved, with industry courses feeding guards into the industry. She was part of this change, working at the “coalface” as the transition occurred.

And as the industry training became formalised, she continued her own industry upskilling. While working as a guard she completed a National Certificate in Security alongside a National Certificate in Adult Education, which allowed her to become a trainer herself.

Kelaher moved into a training role within TSS’s sister company, Training Systems and Solutions Ltd, while still working as a guard. She would work here for 16 years as training assessment manager, and then move

into the role of deputy director of training when the company was sold to New Zealand Security Association in 2017.

In this role she was responsible for security audits against NZSA codes of practice; programme delivery and design; and assessment of material development.

Kelaher explains that one of the things she loved most about her work in training is watching how people transform from nervous newcomers to experienced senior managers.

“I remember how nervous I was when I started,” she says. “I’ve seen people move into roles like operations manager, it’s wonderful to see this growth.”

Her years of work as an educator within the security industry had taken her to the top of her trade. She’d stopped guarding in 1999, and for the next 18 years it was all “training, training, training” at TSSL and then for NZSA.

While she loved her role at NZSA, after nearly two decades in the same organisation (albeit with different owners) she was looking for a change.

“I’d gone as far as I could; but I really hadn’t stepped out of my comfort zone,” she admits.

So, when she was approached by Bruce Couper, director and shareholder of security risk consulting firm RISQ, and offered work as a consultant, she leapt at the chance to change direction.

“Bruce Couper had been a mentor for me, and I’ve learned a lot since from him,” she says.

Her current role as security risk and training consultant is multidimensional; every day is different.

She has been working at RISQ since 2017. The company delivers customised security solutions for a wide range of clients¬–telcos, banks, and other corporates. On any given day, you may find Kelaher tailoring a conflict management course, taking senior execs through ways in which to defuse explosive issues or helping create online video presentations that teach companies the best ways in which to handle threats.

“I often play the criminal in these videos,” she laughs. “I’m good at swearing and playing the part of the criminal, but I’m not so good at presenting!”

Kelaher exemplifies the ideal of “lifelong learning”. Through ASIS certification (eligibility for which is very stringent) she has completed both CPP and PSP designations in New Zealand; the only woman in the country to do so. She was also appointed chair of ASIS New Zealand in January last year, having been security and deputy chair previously.

“It’s sh%tloads of work,” she laughs. It’s an unpaid role and the industry “runs on the smell of an oily rag” she laughs.

ASIS International is a respected professional organisation known the world over. It’s standards and qualifications have worldwide recognition, and Kelaher’s election as chair is a representation of the respect people in the industry have for her experience and professionalism.

Kelaher believes that women have particular strengths that they can bring to the security industry.

“Women tend to have certain communication skills that make them excellent at conflict management. Mothers who have raised kids possess certain life skills: they don’t react as quickly as others, and they tend not to be overwhelmed by their emotions,” she says.

She says that she estimates only 20% of applicants for courses are women: but she’s seen many of these women go on to be key players in the industry. Kelaher believes the security industry has a “wide net” and if more women were aware of the opportunities it offered, the numbers would increase.

“People are really just limited by their thinking [when it comes to opportunities in security]. There are so many options: face-to-face; technical; cyber security. It’s an amazing industry and we celebrate every woman who is involved in it.”