A


n article which explores why, even as one of the


world’s fastest growing industries, security is not yet a career of choice.


and social environment, our world is constantly evolving and so, too, are the risks we face.


And as the digital age continues to define the modern way of living, it feels like cyber threats are coming in from every direction.


Let me start with a question. How many people reading this article chose security as a career, and how many ‘fell into it’?


I am going to hazard a guess that like myself, and the majority of people I speak with, security somehow found you. Therefore, it is quite by luck we all ended up here. Now imagine what our industry could look like if security became a career of choice.


For quite a while there has been a general consensus that we want and need career pathways within our sector: to motivate our existing workforce, attract new and diverse talent, and ideally move towards the creation of a profession. My optimistic self would hope that this could allow us to start dictating our value to clients rather than being in a constant race to the bottom.


So, a career of choice, where to start?


A career is defined as ‘an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress’. A career pathway, we can therefore surmise, is a series of jobs that you undertake to help you progress towards your ultimate career goal.


So, do we have career pathways in the security industry? That was a rhetorical question; of course we do. So why do we keep talking about careers and lack of career pathways?


Having spent a number of years talking with professionals across the world about their roles, I know for a fact that career pathways exist – both within individual organisations and across the industry as a whole.


I’ve spoken to many high performing professionals who have worked very hard to climb said ladder and now enjoy a view from the top.


But, there has been one running theme across the majority of those I have spoken with: they didn’t set out to build a career in security, they ‘fell into it’, and certainly had no aspirations as a teenager or young adult to work or move into the security industry long term.


What is security?


There are so many specialisms, fields and subject areas within the security sector it is a difficult task to define exactly what it is we do.


Security straddles almost every industry and with constant shifts in the economic, political


16


This constant shift means that as an industry, we are continually evolving with new companies, new roles and new responsibilities to protect our businesses and population from harm.


Furthermore, with so many different sized organisations working across such a vast array of sectors, with identical job titles in one organisation meaning something completely different in another, it isn’t difficult to see where the problem lies. Although, in reality, the diversity this industry has to offer should be the reason we are an attractive career option to consider.


In my experience, those working across corporate security roles tend to understand better than most, where they fit in in the bigger picture. But those on the frontline, entry level and certainly the general public have absolutely no idea about the roles that exist in this industry (apart from maybe Tesco security guard and ‘bouncer’), let alone careers.


Ultimately, it seems that no one outside the industry really has a clue what we have to offer, which does strike me as odd since we are surrounded by security everywhere we look, and it is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.


When I’m older I want to be…


A doctor, lawyer, engineer? When deciding what career path we want to pursue we consider things such as our interests, earning capability (will I be able to afford that yacht in 20 years’ time?), responsibility levels and whether we think we would ‘fit’ into a particular industry.


First and foremost, an individual cannot choose a particular career if they don’t know it exists! We cannot aspire to be something we don’t even know about. We can’t carefully consider whether a particular career path is a good option for us if we don’t know what’s involved in terms of time and cost and how much we have the potential to earn at the end of it.


So the problem, it would seem, is not that we don’t have career pathways, it’s that no one knows about them. But whoes responsibility is it to tell them?


A profession


Another important factor when deciding what to do with oneself, and one that propelled me into the world of law for a period of time, is whether it is a respected profession. Do I feel proud to tell people what I do when I’m


© CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – SUMMER 2021 www.citysecuritymagazine.com


asked? As we progress through life, we realise that what people think of what we do is actually of little relevance, but we cannot ignore it is a significant factor for young people – especially if parents, teachers, friends have any influence on their decision making. A profession is defined as a paid occupation


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36