Are you a security boss or a manager tired of searching for reliable, hard-working security guards? There have certainly been some issues recently that have hampered the supply of security guards. Let’s take a look at factors that are still making recruitment challenging.
Covid
The pandemic put many security guards on the front line of the illness, and the industry suffered a high rate of covid infections as a result. While many people are fine after contracting the virus, unfortunately, we know all too well that the disease can be fatal or have long-term debilitating health effects.
Brexit
Brexit has had the effect of discouraging EU workers from coming to the UK. Many of those that were here have not renewed their visas and returned home. This has had a significant effect on the supply of security workers.
The great resignation
The great resignation is an unexpected phenomenon that occurred in 2022. Record numbers of people have quit their jobs for various reasons. People working from home or on furlough have reconsidered what is important in their lives and have, therefore, decided to change careers in search of a better work-life balance, conditions, hours or pay. This has also affected the security industry.
Licence costs
Due to soaring costs following the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, people, especially those on low or minimum wages, such as security guards, cannot afford to renew their training and licence.
New top-up training
In addition to licence costs, the SIA required additional top-up training from October 2021. This was to improve industry standards and improve the skills of security guards to include first aid training. However, once again, all this comes at a cost which often has to be paid by the security worker themselves.
At Get Licensed, we understand security guards’ difficulties in entering the industry. We offer advice to recruit excellent new potential security workers, such as physically active and alert students looking for extra weekend work. Or advising ex-military that the security industry is a perfect fit for them. We also partner with employers to encourage them to pay for their security staff training. And we offer interest-free ways for attendees to spread the cost of training.
But with all these factors working against you when you need a security guard and you need one fast, what can you do to attract new talent to your business?
We recommend ditching expensive sites such as cv-library, monster, and reed. While you can find security guards on these sites, Get Licensed has the number one bespoke job platform that deals with security professionals only.
We tested Get Licensed by advertising the same job vacancy as Reed, Indeed and CV Library. Get Licensed outperformed them all significantly. Get Licensed provided four times the number of applicants than others. It also produced applicant results in just 12 minutes, while the others limped in with result times from 5 to 18 hours.
You will also find that sites not aimed at the security industry do not have our facilities. We check all SIA licences to ensure they correspond with the SIA database. We also offer candidates a great way to introduce themselves to you. You can look through CVs online, and if you choose, you can look at candidates with video profiles. This gives you a better idea as to the person behind the CV and can be very beneficial in helping you decide if the candidate will be a good fit for your company.
You can see all the skills a candidate has online. We use the Guardpass app, which is free to all our candidates, and we offer further free training to candidates on the app. You will be able to see the badges that prove that candidates have completed short courses. Currently, the free training we offer to boost candidate skills includes:
- Nato alphabet
- Fire safety
- Law and regulation
- Problem solving
- Use of force
- Search procedure
- Customer care
- Handling emergencies
- Conflict management
- Communication
You will also receive notifications when an applicant has applied so that you can fill your vacancies fast without having to log in and out, hoping for a response,
In short, not only do we offer the best and most vetted talent in the security industry, we aim to save you money on your recruitment costs. In a Mitie Case study, not only did we save them time, but also money. The great news is that you can open an account and post your first ten jobs for free. So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with a dedicated account manager today to discuss your recruitment needs.
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