21.08.2024

SIA confirms refresher training will be required for some licence renewals

From Tuesday 1 April 2025, door supervisors and security guards must undertake refresher training to renew their licence.

The new ‘refresher’ qualifications will be available from 1 October 2024. The qualifications update safety-critical skills door supervisors and security guards use to keep the public safe. The SIA is encouraging affected licence holders to take the training as soon as possible.

In April 2021 the SIA raised the standard of licence-linked qualifications for door supervisors and security guards applying for new licences. Accredited ‘top-up’ awards were introduced for door supervisors and security guards in October 2021 as a requirement for renewing licenses.

By October 2024, all existing door supervisor and security guard licence holders will have completed the ‘top-up’ training and be qualified to the same standard. The refresher training ensures operatives refresh their skills in safety-critical areas and learn up to date content on spiking and terror threat awareness.

Tony Holyland, Head of Individual Standards for the SIA says: "Professional security operatives play a critical role in improving community safety and protecting the public in the UK. As the challenges around public safety increase so do the expectations about what security should be doing and be trained to do.

"We recognise that skills can fade over time, this new requirement will ensure that operatives have up to date and refreshed safety critical skills.

"A key element of our role as a regulator is to work with the industry to raise standards in private security. The new requirements will help achieve this."

Alongside the requirement to present an up-to-date Emergency First Aid certificate, the following will be in the refresher training:

For door supervisors:

conducting searches
physical intervention
protecting people in vulnerable situations, including content on spiking
terror threat awareness – ACT/You can ACT certificate

For security guards:

conducting searches
protecting people in vulnerable situations, including content on spiking
terror threat awareness – ACT/You can ACT certificate

Individuals holding a door supervisor licence can choose one of the following options:

take the door supervisor refresher training and renew their door supervisor licence
take the security guard refresher training and switch to a security guard licence

The new refresher training will be available from October and will become mandatory for licences renewed after 1st April 2025. This six-month period mirrors the arrangements that were put in place for top-up training, and allows industry, training providers and individual licence holders sufficient time to plan, budget and implement the new requirements to ensure that they are ready for when the new training becomes mandatory.

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