SIA confirms ‘refresher’ training requirements for licence renewals

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is encouraging affected licence holders to take the training as soon as possible. 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 or take the security officer refresher training and switch to a security officer licence.

In either case, personnel must have an up-to-date Emergency First Aid at Work qualification (or equivalent) before they can take the refresher training.

A new First Aid qualification for security officers will be updated to include content recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry on dealing with traumatic bleeds.

Back in April 2021, the SIA raised the standards for licence-linked qualifications for door supervisors and security officers. Accredited ‘top-up’ awards were introduced for door supervisors and security officer in October of that year. Come October 2024, all existing door supervisor and security officer licence holders will be qualified to the same standard.

Critical role

Tony Holyland, head of individual standards for the SIA, observed: “Here in the UK, professional security operatives play a critical role in improving community safety and protecting the public.”

Holyland continued: “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. As such, this new requirement will ensure that operatives have up-to-date and refreshed safety-critical skills.”

Further, Holyland commented: “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 assist in achieving this goal.”

Refresher training content

Alongside the Emergency First Aid content, the following elements will be included within the refresher training:

Door supervisors

*Conducting searches

*Physical intervention

*Protecting people in vulnerable situations (including content on spiking)

*Terror threat awareness (Act/You can Act certificate)

Security officers conducting searches

*Protecting people in vulnerable situations (including content on spiking)

*Terror threat awareness (Act/You can Act certificate)

As stated, the new refresher training will be available from October and become mandatory for licences renewed after 1 April 2025. This six-month period is the same period of transition as last time to allow industry, training providers and individual licence holders sufficient time to plan, budget and implement the new requirements in order to ensure that they’re ready for when the new training becomes mandatory.

Further updates on implementation will be provided in the coming weeks.

*Read more about refresher training: Changes to the training you need for an SIA licence

**Read the SIA’s answers to commonly asked questions about refresher training: Changes to SIA licence-linked training