A recent poll, commissioned by the Young Enterprise charity of big employers including HSBC, Santander, KPMG and Procter & Gamble highlights concerns that potential recruits are failing to impress at even the most basic levels especially a ‘can do attitude’. When asked to clarify which important skills where lacking, one response was ‘too many to list’. Ian Smith, the Young Enterprise charity chairman said. ‘The situation is getting worse because, the Department for Education is adopting a too narrow focus on academic skills and exams’.
In 2009 Sir Terry Leahy CEO of Tesco, attacked the then government’s education record saying that, ‘teenagers leave school without enough basic education to cope on a shop floor’. As a result a new acronym is being bandied around, NEET, not in education, employment or training; a baffling title considering that many young people, despite their misunderstanding, would like nothing more than to referred to as ‘NEAT’.
Essentially what’s lacking here are basic ‘life skills’ which, you don’t achieve flipping burgers, stacking shelves or passing barcodes over a scanner. The fact that millions of graduates are in debt due to student loans, and equally as many young people are adding to the dismal unemployment statistics searching for jobs, means clearly there is a need for more tactical measures on behalf of job seekers.
Although the security industry was once regarded as a somewhat dead-end option, populated by retired police constables or little more than a caretaker’s role, times have changed. Take CCTV surveillance as an example. There is a huge amount of responsibility and accountability attached to this role, not least of all the legal implications required in a CCTV operative’s observation. Include the use of advanced technology, communication, teamwork, reliability and honesty then you have the makings of a top-of-the-heap CV.
So, back to the ‘can do attitude’. Regardless of whether a security industry role is perceived as a stop-gap tactic by prospective employers or the employee themselves, the implications for being taken seriously in the workplace are hugely relevant especially for future career moves; and that path doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the security sector behind. The security industry is the biggest growth employment sector in the UK, and starting relatively low on the ladder doesn’t mean future prospects are limited, on the contrary there is huge potential for positive career growth in management and consultancy to name only two.
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