All posts tagged UK

Security Training and Licensing for the Leisure Industry

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Here in the UK all training courses related to private security be it individually or for a company, must be regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and approved by the BIIAB.

SIA main duty is the compulsory licensing of individuals working in specific sectors of the private security industry. On the other hand BIIAB is the wholly-owned awarding body of BII, the professional body for the licensed retail industry.

According to the Private Security Industry Act 2001, section 3, schedule 2. Anyone looking to work as a private security guard, door supervisor or as a bouncer must have a valid SIA licence.

Other activities defined as licensable by the Act are: Cash and Valuables in Transit, Close Protection, Public Space Surveillance (CCTV), Key Holding and Vehicle Immobilisation (Wheel Clamping).

How to apply for a SIA licence?

Before applying for SIA licence to work within security industry, individuals must undergo a structured training course that results in a recognised qualification.

Once the training course is completed individuals are submitted to a test. This test is then sent to the entity responsible for marking, in this case BIIAB. BIIAB will return examination results on the same day which means that individuals will receive their test results in about 2 working days.

Having approved the test individuals can then apply for their SIA licence by filling out the SIA Licence applications. Once the application is received and an examination pass has been confirmed it will take between 7-10 days for the SIA licence to be issued.

Licence in hand you are then qualified to work within the security industry.

One of the most common questions that we hear from our students is: Does my SIA Licence for Door supervisor allows me to work as a private security guard as well?

The answer to this question is yes. The door supervisor licence is valid for both door supervision and security guarding.

Before enrolling on any training course keep this in mind:

1 – Check the training provider backgrounds. You don’t want to end up with a fake licence in your hands. 2 – Ask for their accreditations (SIA, BIIAB, Edexcel, etc…) 3 – Look for ex-students testimonials and feedback. The easies way to do this is by Googling the company’s name.

By following these 3 simple steps this will assure that you are enrolled onto a qualified training programme to work within the UK’s security industry.

In this article I described the “ins and outs” to work as a qualified employee in the security industry here in the UK. I would like to hear what is needed to work as a door supervisor or as a security guard in your country. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Philip Smouha – Decades In The Fashion Industry

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It has been said by many that the fashion industry is a cut-throat one. An industry that is very hard to succeed in simply due to the nature of how garments in particular change hands from manufacturers to end users.

The Smouha fabric company was a company that managed to successfully trade fabrics in Australia since 1950. That was until the Global financial crisis affected the customers of Smouha fabrics and they were unable to repay loans owed to the company.

We can still learn a lot about a fabric company that succeeded in this cut-throat industry. It was due to their great reputation, good service and above all else their commitment to stocking only the highest quality fabrics.

Smouha fabrics have lived through government changes in the last few decades which affected many importers. The government increasing the allowance of off shore manufacturing by reducing duties and tariffs is one such example. Even when competition became fierce with cheaper prices on offer to designers and manufacturers Smouha fabrics remained a trusted supplier. This was due to the fabric company delivering exactly what their customers wanted while financing them at the same time.

The fabric empire was started by Philips father Charles, originally from Manchester in the UK which traditionally was the textile centre. Long before the company traded millions of dollars each year the family business began with the goal of just surviving. The business continued to grow through many fashion trends from the 50s to today because of their great style and depth of knowledge of where trends were headed.

Philip Smouha, the director of the 49 year old family business has since found his footing after closing a chapter in his life and is successfully building companies once again. His son is involved in running a beer company called Lucky beer with him. The company has already had a great impact in Australia and off shore due to the cheeky nature of the marketing and original idea which no body has come up with before.

The solid principles of supporting customers and providing them with exactly what they need from the decades in the fashion industry have obviously not gone to waste. The Smouha family continue to live very successful lives.

Upcoming Publication On Global Golf Industry

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Worldwide golf sport and equipments/supplies industry is highly fragmented with largest contribution coming from the US, Japan and some of the European countries. Golf industry has a large number of male participants than female while this trend is slowly changing and increasing number of women are entering into the golf business. India and China are emerging markets for this sport.

Per capita income and demographic trends leave a major influence over golf demand and participation. The US golf industry is one of the largest in the world and has advanced golf facilities. While in recent times, its growth rate is slower than expected because of the high cost involved in the game and present economic conditions of the US does not allow spending much on leisure activities. Golf apparel and accessories segment started gaining popularity due to rising per capita disposable income in all parts of the country. The golf industry, particularly equipment sales, is impacted by the participation rate, especially from a group of core golfers, and also by the number of rounds played.

Within Europe, a major portion of golf demand and supply comes from few countries wherein the UK and Ireland stands on top. The European golf industry is benefiting from rising golf participation rate in the UK and revenues generated from golf tours. A major portion of the demand for golf equipment is coming from Western part of the Europe, while Eastern Europe is also indicating rising interest of population in the sport. Manufacturers of golf equipments have reduced their production estimate for 2012 and 2013 due to falling national income and trade.

Golf industry in Asian region is expanding rapidly with growing income and rising golf tourists. It has been estimated that number of golfers in these regions increasing rapidly and generating need to serve rising number of members. India offers huge opportunities for golf industry with large number of population and rise in foreign tourists arrivals.

The upcoming report on Global Golf Industry, Participation and Growth Forecast will provide a detailed analysis of golf industry development worldwide with focus on Europe and the US markets. The study will include participation trend, impact of economy over golf industry, golf equipments demand and forecasts. The report will also analyze industry trends, macro economy environment and driving forces accounting for change in the industry.
For more information, please contact

Examination of the Problems Facing the Transport Industry

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The transport industry is facing up to wide spread problems all the way across the board, from same day courier services through to heavy goods haulage firms. How the industry deals with these problems is a vital question in how we can move forwards beyond the difficulties posed by rising fuel prices, environmental concerns being levied on the industry and also the potential prospect of winters as harsh as the one that the UK recently experienced.

The recent cold snap has a massive effect on the transport industry, and continues to do so, as it presented multiple problems that courier services and those in the industry had to work around and deal with. First and foremost amongst these problems was the over-abundance of ice on the roads during this period. Many local councils were woefully unprepared for a winter as harsh as the one we had last, leading to salt supplies being much too low. This in turn led to many roads simply becoming unusable, especially in smaller suburbs or urban areas. Needless to say this had the potential to strike a crippling blow to the transport industry and, for many, it did just that. The industry, and Britain as a whole, was simply caught unawares by the difficulties posed by such a nasty winter, and this led to major problems for many businesses, however the transport industry was amongst the most prominently affected. Vehicles were forced off the roads and many companies simply had to shut up shop for a number of weeks, drastically affecting income.

This is something to we simply can’t afford to happen again, especially due to the potentially catastrophic effect it can have on smaller businesses and urgent courier services, who rely on their ability to get from A to B quickly. As such we need to ensure that local councils all over the country have adequate salt supplies should we face the same issues in the future. Not only this, but salt supplies need to evenly spread around. We, as an industry, simply can’t afford another winter like the one we just experienced and knowing that supplies could have been available in places that needed them simply rubbed salt into the wounds.

Some are attempting to take measures to minimize the impact of this problem. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has already recommended a number of potential solutions to the problems that the industry faces from a harsh winter. Amongst these are the obvious, such as ensuring there are larger salt supplies available to reduce the time queuing at salt production sites.

Another, less obvious recommendation is to provide drivers with a little more leeway when it comes to their hours. The FTA calls for a greater flexibility in the handling of a drivers time on the road, as well as calling for a modest increase in the amount of time they can spend driving when they are able, to compensate for the periods during winter when they may be forced off the road.

This call, however, comes into direct conflict with recent rulings by the European Parliament (EP). An attempt to permanently exempt owner drivers from the 48 hour week imposed by the EP failed, meaning that soon self-employed courier drivers will now have to limit themselves to 48 hours of working per week, alongside the workforce that they may employ.