The increasing complexity of both
criminal and terrorist threats, coupled with the equal complexity of physical
and technical security responses serves to highlight the need for professionally
qualified security consultants. Today's consultants need to be educated, trained
and qualified if they are to meet these security challenges,” said Mark Whyte,
Director of TPS Security and Explosion Effects, when discussing the launch of
the security industry leading, Graduate Employee Scheme by TPS Security and
Explosion Effects. In this innovative step TPS, who are part of the Carillion
Group, has championed the case for graduate trainees with the launch of the
Security Consultant Graduate Entry scheme.
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TPS
has already recruited several university graduates into their security consultancy
and explosion effects team as part of the scheme. The aim is to develop their
skills in a structured and professional manner, tailored to the security arena
by involving them in a unique training programme that will build on their first
degrees, all of which are relevant to the security discipline.
As part of
their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) within TPS, over the next
twelve months both will undertake monthly training modules that will provide
them with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to become junior security
consultants. Each module will take them through an individual aspect of the
security specialism. They will concentrate on physical security, technical
security and security management philosophy and methodology.
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One of the
training modules, for example, is based on the technical specification of
door sets and locks. Instruction is given on how and why doors and locks are
security rated, what attack methods are employed and what applications they
have in the security marketplace. They will also learn though ‘on the job
training’ how to perform a security audit or survey. Understanding the
methodology behind the security of door sets and locks will enable them to
be objective about security requirements, especially when confronted by a
LPS SR 4 door in a stud partition wall!
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Doug
Cochrane (24) graduated from the University of the West of England with an
Honours degree in building surveying. Doug joined Carillion plc initially as
a building control surveyor before transferring to the TPS security
consultancy team. He has just completed a hostile vehicle mitigation project
at a regional airport that involved vehicle impact assessments and advice
regarding anti-ram measures, and is now involved with a series of physical
security audits for a leading telecommunications provider.
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William
Wilkinson (23) is a civil and structural engineering graduate from the
University of Leeds. Specialising in seismic engineering, William has taken
a keen interest in the opportunities afforded by the explosion effects team.
He started his career with TPS assisting on the façade design for a large
police headquarters building and is currently involved in developing the
bomb blast model for a new-build iconic structure in London. In addition to
learning their ‘tradecraft’, graduates will be able to become professionally
qualified up to chartered level through the Institute of Civil Engineers,
and to be listed on the Register of Security Engineers and Specialists,
which is sponsored by CPNI, or though the Royal Institute of Chartered
Surveyors, where TPS is involved in helping to develop official guidance for
surveyors.
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Mark Whyte
continued; ”Whilst it may be argued that knowledge needs to be supported by
experience, especially in the security industry, the current graduates are all
working on ‘live’ projects with an experienced senior consultant, and are
supported and mentored by members of the wider security team who are experts in
their own individual fields. Typically the very best graduates would be
expected to progress from trainee level, through junior and senior positions, to
achieve principal level in a ten-year time scale. A major step forward in this
area is the creation of the Register of Security Engineers and specialists, run
by the ICE and sponsored by CPNI. This initiative is significant in that it
provides for the first time a security qualification backed by a professional
institution. It provides recognition of expertise in a range of areas from
general security advisor through to counter terrorism design, hostile vehicle
mitigation and surveillance systems.”
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Chris
Lawrence of the TPS Advisory Team |
TPS, in
common with the other multi-disciplined security consultancies have a number
of persons qualified under the RSES scheme. TPS also has in place a
graduate trainee programme designed to equip graduates with the necessary
skills over a two year period to pass the assessment for RSES at the basic
level of entry. TPS graduates include civil and structural engineers,
surveyors, electrical engineers and some post graduate qualifications in
security related disciplines.
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The
graduates’ principal mentor is Chris Lawrence, who heads up the TPS Security
Advisory Team. Chris completed a BSc (Hons) in security and risk management
as a mature student at the University of Portsmouth in 2005 and is a Fellow
of the Security Institute. Of his new charges, Chris said: “It is the
absence of a graduate path into the security industry that has taken us to
the start of this journey. It is very refreshing to have a younger set of
eyes and a new mindset working along side us and we’ve been delighted to
find that they are all quite keen to challenge certain security precepts.
One could take the position that this might be borne out of ignorance or
naivety, but I believe it goes deeper than that. It shows an enquiring mind
and demonstrates to me that, by having to take a step back and explain
security methodologies to these guys, we often take things for granted
within our industry.” |
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