Every security company owner knows that it is immensely hard to find professional, well-trained security officers who have received proper security training. A glut of personnel working illegally on student visas or who have been imported by criminal gangs and should never be anywhere near the security industry, makes the genuinely engaged frontline security officer ever harder to find.
So, how do you find these diamonds in the sand?
The Value of a Dedicated Security Hiring Platform
Firstly, using the premier, security industry-dedicated recruitment system is going to be a big help in sorting the wheat from the chaff and finding the best available candidates.
That system is GuardPass, obviously. Have a look at our security hiring platform for employers for more information. Also, check out this resource on how GuardPass helps solve these top security hiring challenges.
Thinking Outside the Box: Attracting Talent from Other Industries
When you have exhausted the pool of candidates and still can’t find the people you need, what’s next?
Many companies are now coming to the realisation that some ‘out of the box’ thinking is needed to find the people that they need. One of the new initiatives that is gaining traction is recruiting from outside the security industry, finding the talent that has become disillusioned with logistics, catering or whatever gig they have been doing.
Frontline security industry work is highly responsible, and the protection of people and property could not be a more honourable job, so it should be an attractive alternative proposition. The big barrier to moving to the security industry is, of course, the cost of training and licensing.
This issue is being largely overcome by security companies offering to pay the cost of the mandatory training course and SIA licence fee for potential candidates who have the attitude and skills that would tend to make them a highly successful security officer.
This is a major financial outlay and indeed a risk for employers, but this is largely being circumvented by making it clear in an employment contract that if an employee that has had their training and licence paid for by the company, leaves within 6 months, then the cost of training and licence will be recovered from final pay, or must be refunded by other pre agreed means.
6 months’ worth of full-time work does not equate to a huge financial profit for any security officer’s services, but it will cover the training and licensing outlay without too much stress on the bottom line.
Partnering with a Trusted Training Network
Training network Get Licensed is uniquely placed to assist and is able to arrange corporate security training for your new staff at dozens of venues across the UK, offering assistance to companies and even corporate bulk booking discounts!
Final Thoughts: Train the Right People Into the Right Roles
In a nutshell, when you can’t find the decent calibre of security officers you need, find decent people, and turn them into security officers! I very much hope that as the SIA stamps out malpractice and fraud in the UK security industry, we will see a lot of the dead wood removed. In the meantime, this would seem to be an effective treatment for what we all hope is a minor short-term illness.
Invest in People, Not Just Papers: Futureproof Your Security Workforce
The security industry is evolving, and it’s the companies that invest in potential, not just credentials, that will build the most resilient teams. Supporting SIA training for promising candidates is more than a stop-gap; it’s a long-term solution to a chronic hiring challenge.
If you’re ready to futureproof your workforce with licensed, motivated security professionals, GuardPass makes recruitment faster, simpler, and compliant. With instant access to pre-vetted candidates, automated licence checks, and built-in compliance tools, you can focus on what matters: building a high-performing security team.
Explore GuardPass today and discover how we help security companies hire better, smarter, and faster.