CIS to host professional certification programme for senior security officers

Jan 21, 2011 News

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Intended to boost their security competency and preparedness, the first ever Professional Certification Programme (PCP) for senior security officers is slated to occur this year in Guyana through the efforts of the Caribbean Institute of Security (CIS).
This venture, which has been in the making for a number of years, is expected to gain support from the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM) of India, according to CIS Secretary, Clairmont Featherstone.
He revealed to this publication that arrangements for the support of an expert faculty from India are currently being wound up with IISSM.
Once the programme is able to come off by the anticipated August deadline, Featherstone said that the Region’s security sector will more than likely receive a boost, which will allow it to demonstrate levels of security competence and preparedness previously found only in developed countries.
The CIS Secretary explained that professional certification programmes are usually very costly even in developed countries, and run between five and seven days.
However, since the Caribbean is unfamiliar with the philosophy and methods of industrial security as a professional practice, it was decided to have the programme run in the first instance, for fifteen days, specifically to build the security capacity in the region.
“The cost of a six-day PCP in the United Kingdom is approximately £2,800 while a similar programme cost approximately US$3,000 in the United States…being cognizant of the financial constraints faced by many security practitioners in the poorer countries of the region, the CIS is commited to keep the cost of the PCP below US$1,000 and will seek subsidies to achieve this objective,” Featherstone said.
In fact, he revealed, that plans are in the pipelines for discussions to be held with President Bharrat Jagdeo.
He explained there is a tendency in developed countries for the governments to expose members of the Disciplined Forces and relevant law-enforcement agencies to professional certification programmes, so as to keep them up to date with the latest developments in security.
As such, he pointed out that the PCP will be a double award programme so that participants will be awarded a certificate from a recognized University for Academic Credits, and will receive 90 continuing development credits through the professional body, as academic certification alone is usually not sufficient to secure employment in any professional practice.
Featherstone noted that the programme will be articulated with other professional bodies internationally.
“…Currently most senior security positions in Guyana are held by former members of the Joint Services, as is customarily the case in most countries in and out of the Commonwealth.
However, in Guyana, unlike most other jurisdictions, former Joint Services personnel often lack a proper understanding of the private security industry which often translates into incompetence and inefficiency, which has the potential to increase the cost of protection and chances of liability, as insurance companies are often asked to pay for liabilities which could have been avoided in the first place.”
Featherstone stated that the PCP will correct those deficiencies by providing a common body of knowledge which comports with international best practice, while providing a direct stream to higher professional qualifications internationally.
He said, too, that it is evident that sufficient emphasis is not being placed on life skills in the Joint Services, which often results in its members not being adequately equipped to reintegrate into civilian life, especially in the private sector.
For these reasons, the private security sector is host to many former Joint Service personnel, many of whom are foisted upon younger and better educated persons in the private security industry, which lends itself to an acrimonious work environment.
Featherstone noted that it is often transpires that a former Joint Services representative is the most senior officer while the better educated person is tasked with most of the administrative work, at far less pay and no chance of becoming the boss, as the cycle repeats itself whenever the former Joint Service official demits office.
This, he opined, is clearly an attempt to secure a place in the Private Sector for Joint Services personnel, which is supported by an obvious bias on the part of the employing organizations to maintain this state of affairs.
To mitigate these challenges faced by former Joint Services personnel, most professional bodies conduct programmes to equip them for their return to civilian life.
For this reason, the CIS is in discussions with two professional bodies in the US, Featherstone disclosed, for the delivery of a five-day course titled “Transition Education for Joint Services personnel”, which should begin next year.
The objective, he emphasized, is to repackage the former Joint Services personnel so that he is capable of leveraging his professional talents into jurisdictions not previously accessible, as a competent security professional by international standards.
He said that Guyana which has always been seen as the lynchpin for security in the Region has a lot to benefit from this new development, noting that a member of the institute has been invited to join an international team which works under the auspices of the United Nations clearing land mines in Sudan.
Two others have secured opportunities to undergo training to be conducted by personnel of the South African Special Forces and Israeli Special Forces respectively.

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