Identifying Skill Gaps for Young Security Professionals

Many areas of security need to be considered when someone is involved in this industry. There are several skills required from security staff to ensure optimal results. This is the main reason why identifying any skill gaps in young security professionals is so important.

The following are some of the most essential skills to consider when you are looking to evaluate potential employees.

Optimal performance is essential in a competitive environment

One of the first things that security professionals need to consider is that the competition is fierce. This means that in order to be prepared to excel in this industry, those who engage in the process of becoming security personnel need to understand many aspects of this profession.

To have all the required skills in order to become a security professional is essential. This is why it is important to know which skills may be lacking in your existing staff. It is also crucial to know which skills may be lacking in your potential staff.

Emotional control is a huge part of security

Some people would probably think that one of the first things to consider is that security skills are all about knowing how to prevent situations and how to make use of specific weapons.

Security officers do need to understand those things, but emotional control is just as relevant, if not more important. The process of being able to maintain emotional control during any confrontation or dangerous situation is crucial.

When security offers are young, they usually have this as their biggest skill gap. They train to understand security, but their ability to maintain emotional control is often lacking.

This is a common issue with younger professionals that are unable to handle pressure and hostility without losing control. The problem is that this could be a costly skill gap as it affects the outcome of any dangerous situation.

There are many ways to help someone learn emotional control for security services. There are drills and specific exercises that can help them achieve a much better result in that sense.

Once this part of the training is over, the next step is for the security employee to gain experience on the field. This is going to be a critical part of the process as it will test their emotional intelligence.

Cybersecurity is a huge deal

While younger generations are usually very comfortable with technology, it is still difficult for many young security professionals to handle cybersecurity. This is a huge aspect of the security industry and some security staff are still unable to handle this aspect of their profession.

The biggest problems with a lack of cybersecurity skills is that this is a very relevant aspect of any security process. The world has seen some drastic changes and one of the biggest changes is the constant threat that business ventures are facing with cybercrime.

Understanding the way that cybercrime works involves many different online interactions. This means that the modern security officer needs to train on both the offline and online situations that pose security threats.

To further complicate matters, we are heading into an era that will merge the online and the offline worlds. The Metaverse and the use of all sorts of augmented reality will become essential in our lives.

This is going to bring a whole new set of concerns in terms of safety and security. Hence, the need for all security staff to be properly trained in cybersecurity is huge. This is going to determine a large number of factors that will play a major role in the results.

It is safe to say that the line between the real world and the virtual world will continue to blur. This means that all security issues that we face in the virtual world are going to be just as relevant as the ones we face in the real world.

At a certain point, we are likely to live more of our lives in the virtual world, but this also means security issues will be a bigger concern.

Physical fitness makes a big difference

This may seem like it should not be a problem for younger security staff, but we are seeing an increase in lack of physical stamina at all ages. A reliable security officer is someone that should be able to handle any situations that requires physical stamina.

A security officer needs to be focused in their physical fitness as much as any other aspect of their profession. Security companies need to take the time to evaluate the physical shape of their potential employees.

General knowledge regarding psychology

When you think of security and all the potential issues that come from human behavior, the link with psychology is more than evident. This means that any security professional that wants to excel at their job needs to have a background in psychology.

It is essential to understand human behavior in order to predict what could happen in any given scenario. The more that a security professional knows about psychology, the easier it becomes to evaluate situations and achieve the best possible results.

Skill gaps are also experience gaps

There are many security staff who lack any type of experience in the field. This is a problem because they are not even aware of how they would react in a difficult situation. Being able to understand our own nature while we are in distress is crucial for this type of job.

The main issue is that all security staff need to start somewhere, but if you are to hire an inexperienced security employee, you have to provide extensive training to guarantee they will be ready to handle any situation on the job.

Final thoughts

Security services are not a simple matter. This is the main reason why it is so important to evaluate the skill level of any potential employee. Once you do this, you will ensure that each member of your staff can be ready for any job that is required of your security company.

 By Joseph Sordi, Chief Executive Officer

 Strategic Security Corp.