The Banks Foundation secures stake in Skills for Security

The Banks Foundation was set up by entrepreneur Simon Banks, the founder of the CSL Group. Banks is a long-standing advocate of supporting and mentoring young people into the security, electrotechnical and Internet of Things sectors.  The Banks Foundation is a not-for-profit family foundation designed by Banks to “give something back” after enjoying a successful career in the security industry.

Under the new ownership structure, employees of the hugely popular training body will also become shareholders of Skills for Security.

Simon Banks commented: “I’m passionate about helping young people to realise their potential, whether through apprenticeships or entrepreneurship or both. The Banks Foundation provides an important boost for young enterprise. These are people that have something you cannot teach, but who may ordinarily miss the opportunity to demonstrate their extra-curriculum abilities. By creating wealth in our sector, we will ensure that we attract the very best talent and move the security sector forward, in turn benefiting the entire value chain.”

Banks added: “We are about to kick-off an initiative with 13 schools and colleges whereby 700 students aged from 14 to 18 are encouraged to turn £1 into £10 and then the latter into £100 through audited trading and so on. This initiative seeks out resourceful youngsters who may think differently about business and opportunities. It’s being supported by Young Enterprise as well as local councils and colleges.”

David Scott, managing director at Skills for Security, explained: “This is such a positive step that will allow us to scale-up our training operations nationally.  We are well used to Simon’s involvement as he’s been chair for some time now.”

Scott concluded: “Critical to the investment was to ensure our employees are all shareholders. It’s something Simon introduced to CSL some 20 years ago. This is massively important for morale as we grow and means that the team will be focused on the same goals, while also sharing in the financial rewards.”