Malpractice Within the Security Industry – How Do You Know You’re Safe?

The Security Industry has come to the forefront of the public eye once again following a BBC investigation which has exposed training providers engaging in fraudulent activity and malpractice.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of fraud and malpractice is very widespread within the industry. Whilst Get Licensed, nor any of our training providers have no affiliation the training providers exposed in the BBC investigation, we take reports of malpractice very seriously.

‘Malpractice Within the Security Industry’

Malpractice during the security training process can occur at many levels, including inappropriate support being offered to non-English speaking candidates, training being delivered in less than the required hours, and appropriate exam conditions not being met. In 2010, we became aware that a training provider within our network caused for many qualifications to be revoked due to the inability to meet the trainer-student ratio in accordance with SIA guidelines. In order to rectify this unfortunate predicament, Get Licensed took action to successfully retrain all those who were affected free of charge.

‘Malpractice for Financial Gain’

As identified within the investigation by the BBC, the selling of qualifications for cash is a major concern, and is largely motivated by the sole aim of financial gain. Although the introduction of the SIA has been a great facilitator in improving the training standards of the security industry, there still remains a small minority of training providers that are willing to explore exceptionally unethical tactics in order to cut costs and increase profits. There have even been many occurrences where centres that have been reported for malpractice of this will disappear, only to regain operation under a different company name.

Whilst many criticise the SIA for not preventing such cases, and some even claim fraudulent behaviour within the security industry could lead to acts of terrorism, it must also be stressed that malpractice within the industry is not endemic. Before any person can be issued with a license, the SIA carry out vast number of security checks, including criminal records and visa requirements. However, even with these procedures in place, it is also the duty of employers within the industry to take responsibility to verify the competence of all their employees, and offer them additional, on-going support.

‘The Solution – Taking Assessment away from Training Providers?’

Malpractice not only taints the reputation of those who endeavour to provide training ethically and legitimately, but also discredits those who work within the frontline of the industry. We believe that the only way the integrity of the SIA Licence can be protected is if the SIA, or the accredited awarding bodies take away the responsibility of assessment from training providers, and adopt a system similar to the DVLA where exams are conducted in central locations.

‘Get Licensed – A Malpractice No-Go-Zone’

To aid in rooting out malpractice within the service we offer, we will soon be launching a new transparent marketing platform where approved and verified training providers can be publicly reviewed by students, and build a trust score based on the quality and efficiency of their service provided. Students are also protected under our Training Guarantee, which insures them against any occurrence of malpractice.

We recognise that learners have previously been unable to differentiate between low cost, poor performing training providers, and training providers that provide a good quality service. By giving students transparent and comprehensive information, we inevitably are enabling learners to choose and receive the best training possible.

Whilst we strive to safeguard ourselves from any form of malpractice, we equally admonish students to report any suspicious or fraudulent activity to the SIA to prevent loss of their money, wastage of time, and avoid getting their license revoked.

Has your qualification or license been put at risk due to malpractice? Get Licensed are happy to arrange re-training with an approved provider to any affected candidates at a reduced cost! Contact us on 0207 078 0259 today!

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