SECURITY GUARDS (Certification and training requirements)

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SECURITY GUARDS:

(Certification and training requirements): 6.

Mr Charles Chong asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is (a) the number of agency security guards who have been certified under the National Skill Recognition Scheme (NSRS) and the estimated number yet to complete training and certification; and (b) the pass rate of those taking the test for NSRS certification and the reasons for the low pass rate.

7.

Mr Charles Chong asked the Minister for Home Affairs what security screening and training requirements need to be fulfilled by private and agency security personnel before they are permitted to be deployed as security guards.

Mr Charles Chong (Pasir-Ris-Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the Patron of the Securities Association of Singapore.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, could I have your permission to take both Questions together as they are related?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, currently, a security agency must submit to Police the personal particulars of any person whom they wish to deploy as a security guard. Police will then screen the person for his conviction records and assess his suitability to be a security guard.

Since November last year, Police has adopted the National Skills Recognition System or NSRS framework to help raise the level of training in the security guard industry. NSRS is the national framework

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for establishing work performance standards, identifying job competencies and certifying skills acquisition. There are currently nine NSRS skills standards developed for the security guard industry. Police has adopted two of these for licensing purposes, namely, guarding and patrolling, and incident management. Under Police's licensing requirements, every security guard is required to attend a 5-day course at any of the 17 NSRS approved training centres, where they will receive training on skills such as how to perform access control and patrols, manage bomb threat incidents, preserve crime scenes, provide first aid and use a fire extinguisher. These are basic skills that every security guard should have. At the end of the course, they will be tested by an independent assessor appointed by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

Currently, there are 10,000 security guards employed by private security agencies. As at end October this year, 3,400 security guards have been assessed on the two skills standards that I mentioned earlier. 2,150 or 63% passed. The other 1,250 failed in either one or both of the skills standards.

Of the remaining 6,600 security guards who have not been assessed under the NSRS, 4,400 have been exempted as their previous training and experience were assessed by Police to be adequate for their job. Hence, only 2,200 security guards have yet to complete the NSRS training and obtain the certification. Police have given them up till March 2005 to obtain their certification.

Compared to the average pass rate of 89% across all industries implementing NSRS, the pass rate of 63% for the security guard industry would appear low. The WDA, which administers the NSRS, has assessed that this is partly due to the inadequate training provided by security agencies to their security guards.

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Many security guards who attended the NSRS did not demonstrate sufficient understanding and practical knowledge of the work procedures involved. Some even indicated that they did not know what to expect of these assessments and were thus not prepared for them. The current security climate makes it all the more pressing for the industry to level up its standards.

Sir, the NSRS framework was only introduced for the security industry a year ago. It will take time for the industry to adapt to a rigorous competency-based assessment framework. Police and MOM will continue to work with the security industry to improve the quality of their services.

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, is the Minister satisfied with the standard of training for security guards? Is it sufficient to meet the requirements of our security situation at present? Recently, there were reports saying that some security guards had difficulty identifying hand-grenades and potential time-bombs.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, certainly in terms of the framework that has been put in place, it is a working model. But, like I have said, we have only worked it for a year and there is room for improvement. Both the Police and WDA know this and, in fact, have been conducting dialogue sessions with the training agencies as to how to improve the training and assessment packages. But ultimately the guards themselves, when they perform their duties they must not let up their guard. That is important. So, training is one thing, but the mindset, whilst you are on duty, is another. So really we should prevent human lapses.

But, on our part, putting together this training framework, that is already a big step. Mr Charles Chong must be aware

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that up to 4-5 years ago, there were no requirements for training. Even before September 11, MHA and Police, seeing that there was a need to strengthen the regime, already started introducing some requirements and also encouraged the Association to carry out training with private training agencies. But post-September 11, we have sped up the process, and now with this NSRS framework introduced a year ago, I am optimistic that, working together, we can strengthen the security industry, so that it can play its rightful place in the scheme of things, particularly against security threats.

Mr Charles Chong: Mr Speaker, Sir, could the Minister clarify that the requirements and training needs which he mentioned are applicable to all security guards and not only to agency security guards?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, there is a distinction made between guards that are under the employment of security agencies, whom we call "the security agency guards", and guards who are employed in-house. Under the Private Investigation and Security Agencies Act, as the name implies, the Act covers only the guards who are employed by security agencies and not in-house guards. There is a basis for this distinction. Security agencies are out there in the market as a core business of providing security services. So there is some holding out on their part as to the competency and standing of the guards. Also the employers that engage them will expect that sort of training.

In terms of their reach on the ground, because security agency guards can be deployed all over Singapore, there is a need to ensure that the guards are properly trained. Whereas for inhouse guards, the position we take is that, as an employer, you have a choice, whether you

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want to employ your inhouse guards, that is, employ staff to be inhouse guards or go into the market place and engage agency guards who have been trained. If you employ staff to be your inhouse guards, then your approach should be that, as a prudent employer, you take all the necessary steps to ensure that the person is the right person for the job and is trained adequately for the job.

The in-house guard can be sent for training, but there is no requirement under the NSRS.

Mr Charles Chong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Senior Minister of State has mentioned that there are 10,000 agency guards, but I was told that there are 20,000 inhouse guards. He also said that there is no requirement for screening or training for the inhouse guards. Is the Senior Minister of State aware that some of these inhouse guards perform the same duties as the agency guards, like guarding condominiums and other security sensitive installations? Would his Ministry consider imposing the same screening and training conditions for both inhouse guards as well as agency guards if they perform duties which are of security sensitive nature?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, I have already mentioned the basis for the distinction. Ultimately, it is a matter of choice. Any property owner will have a choice whether to go into the market and engage guards from an agency or to engage his own staff to be his guard. If he engages his own staff to be his guard, the onus is on him to ensure that his guard is of good character and also to provide training for the guard.