One of the biggest challenges facing organisers of London 2012 is to secure the city against security threats and disturbances. That’s quite a feat as hundreds of thousands of people will be visiting London to watch the spectacular. The threat to their security is very real and needs careful consideration.
To tackle the issue, organisers have launched a new programme aimed at ensuring the event stays safe for visitors and to introduce students to careers in the security sector.
As I have said before it is absolutely vital to have highly proficient staff on the ground that are capable of providing high level security cover at all the venues and can carry out the job with full commitment to public safety.
Through the ‘Bridging the Gap’ scheme, students will be give the chance of completing a security qualification. Those achieving the qualification will be guaranteed an interview for a role at the games with the official security provider.
The security industry is booming and there is great demand for trained security personnel. However, this Olympic opportunity should not be seen as a stop-over. Security is an important industry and we need to attract high calibre staff that see this opportunity as a route to a long term career. To be a good security guard involves a strong commitment to care for people and society at large. Taking a role in security is not just about doing a job but about demonstrating a pledge to protect the public under any circumstance.
It will be interesting to see the legacy of the Olympic project and how it will affect the security industry in the long term. It could be extremely beneficial with more people thinking of taking up security as a career given the training and experience they will gain. Only time will tell.
Abbey Petkar
