SPECIAL SPECIAL FEATURE: FEATURETRAINING
Training in SA’s security industry:
Opportunities and challenges
Employing around 450 000 active officers and worth an estimated R45 billion, South Africa’s massive private security sector is critical to both the country’s safety and its economy.
A
nd it’s also increasingly becoming a career of choice rather than a last resort for frustrated job seekers as result of its extensive curriculum, which extends from entry level to specialist. According to Tony Botes, National Administrator of the Security Association of South Africa (SASA) and a 33-year veteran of the industry, post-matriculants are increasingly choosing security as a career rather than a stopgap. That’s partly because it’s relatively affordable when compared with the cost of university and technikon degrees and diplomas, he suggests, and also because it offers more scope for employment in a country where unemployment is currently around 29 per cent. Regulated by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA), the private security industry operates a multitude of training establishments. Some have branches throughout the country and welcome school leavers and employees from other companies; others are compact single entities that cater for their own employees’ training requirements, and then there are the specialised operations. There are also the fly-by-nights, the unregistered, illegal operators who have long undercut prices and preyed on the gullible and the vulnerable. 12
Opening a training academy is no walk in the park, says Mr Botes. It’s an onerous undertaking that involves an enormous amount of time and money and academies must be approved and registered with PSIRA as well as the Department of Labour and the Safety and Security Education and Training Authority (SASSETA).
From entry level to excellence In accordance with PSiRA, the entry level qualifications start with Grade E, for the position of patrol officer. Following on are Grade D (access control officer), Grade C (asset control officer), Grade B (junior supervisor) and Grade A (senior supervisor). Those interested in furthering their security careers can enrol for specialised training to become armed reaction officers, retail security, events officers, and control room operators. Other options are national key-point training (NKP), dog handling and personal protection.
The full training spectrum Inaugurated in 2016, and registered not only with PSiRA and the SASSETA but also as an ETDP Education and Training Development Practitioner (ETDP) and an International Computer Driving License Test Centre (ICDL), the Omega Risk
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA NOVEMBER 2019
Solutions Training Academy offers one of the most extensive syllabuses in the country. It is head-quartered in Pretoria, with offices and branches in the country’s major centres. From basic and refresher courses to full and part time training, its programmes are all in accordance with the National Qualification Forums (NQF) and registered with the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) through the SASSETA. That’s according to Marchél Coetzee, National HR Manager and Director of the Omega Training Academy, which also offers a number of internally developed courses that range from risk assessment for managers, junior management, supervisory and advanced supervisory, site commanders, estate security, security officers at public and private institutions and customer care and public relations. In addition, Omega provides training in the areas of occupational health and safety, basic firefighting and computers, hygiene and cleaning, and CCTV and surveillance with specialist components such as body language studies. It also does risk assessments and ISO 9001 security audits.
Challenges One of the biggest headaches is PSiRA’s ongoing failure to enforce compliance,
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