The SIA has recently announced that from the 1st of April 2020, new SIA licence holders will need to undertake first aid training to gain their licence. While this new rule is only applicable to new holders at the moment, it is widely believed that all SIA-licenced individuals will have to undertake first aid training eventually.
The importance of first aid training for security personnel cannot be overstated, so news of the SIA’s decision has been well-received by those in the industry. By ensuring that all new licence holders receive first aid training will raise standards going forward.
Secure Recruit have personally embraced the changes. We appreciate that by creating a more qualified team, we can offer a higher quality service to the businesses using our services. Hassan, Secure Recruit’s managing director, stated: “These changes will be beneficial to businesses like ours and customers alike. All our security personnel will have high quality first aid training, meaning the quality of the security services we offer to our customers will massively increase.”
The SIA changes advantage the businesses using security services greatly. Here are some benefits of having first aid-trained security personnel protecting your business.
More than just a security presence
These changes will ensure that when you have security officers looking after your business, you will have personnel offering far more than simply security services. While security officers will first and foremost protect your property and your goods effectively, they will be able to respond professionally if trouble does occur.
If there are any emergencies where medical assistance is required, first aid-trained security personnel will be able to perform essential treatment until the emergency services arrive to continue treatment.
The difference between life and death
Hiring first aid-trained security personnel could be the difference between life and death depending on circumstances of any given scenario. A survey completed by the Red Cross demonstrated that only 16 percent of people have the confidence to help someone unresponsive and not breathing. By ensuring security personnel have first aid training, many lives could be saved.
In any emergency situation, mere minutes can make a massive difference. In just a few minutes, someone could lose their life. On the other hand, lives can be saved in mere minutes by people who have the right knowledge. Our officers will all undergo first aid training, ensuring they have the knowledge to save lives should the need arise.
Preventing the worsening of situations
When first aid assistance is required, the situation is never good. However, with first aid training, security officers can prevent the worsening of situations. A trained person has the knowledge to prevent any given emergency situation from going from bad to worse. First aid trained personnel can offer a high standard of treatment that will suffice until emergency personnel arrive to offer more suitable treatment.
Security personnel are normally the first people to arrive at an emergency situation. Previously, they might have been unable to offer any level of medical support to those injured. Now that first aid training will be required, security personnel will be able to provide temporary support that will stop a victim’s condition from deteriorating.
Increased security personnel effectiveness
Although it is important to have security personnel who can protect your property effectively, to offer truly effective security, first aid training is necessary. If you know that your security personnel have undergone first aid training, you can ensure that any environment is secure and safe regardless of what happens.
With any trauma situation, even basic first aid training can make all the difference. In the majority of trauma situations, your security personnel will be involved before anyone else is. With the change in legislation, your security personnel will be able to offer first aid. Essentially, security personnel will be more effective than ever now they will be trained to administer first aid.
Danger is always around the corner
It’s a sad fact of life that danger is always around the corner. Security guards will often find themselves in environments where trauma situations could easily occur, such as festivals or night clubs. Whether a fight breaks out or someone experiences a dangerous fall, danger is always around the corner.
Security personnel need to have awareness of treating basic injuries and managing major injuries until emergency medical personnel arrive. With danger always just around the corner, alertness and first aid knowledge can make all the difference.
SIA legislation changes FAQs
Here are some of the main questions that we’ve been asked about these changes. If your question isn’t answered here, feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help you out.
“When will the changes be made?”
Changes will be actioned on the 1st of April. Whether you are getting into security or you are looking into security services for your customers, it’s important to know that new licence holders will need first aid training to become certified security personnel. If you require any more information about the change in legislation, contact us and we’ll be more than happy to advise you.
“Will already licenced individuals also need first aid training?”
While it hasn’t been announced that people already possessing an SIA licence will need first aid training, it is widely believed that in the near future it will become a requirement. By requiring all people holding an SIA licence to undergo first aid training, security service standards as a whole will rise over the coming years, which is good for people using security services.
“Do Secure Recruit encourage their employees to undergo training?”
We take the safety of people very safely, as a big part of the services we offer are all about protecting people. As a result, we do encourage all our security personnel to undergo first aid training to ensure they can offer the very best support in trauma situations. Going forward, we will be guaranteeing that all our employees have first aid training so they can respond to emergency situations appropriately.
