Buckinghamshire New University supports launch of The Security Consortium

The founding partners describe The Security Consortium as “a progressive, non-aligned consortium of UK and globally recognised, trusted and long-established security and resilience training and educational specialists. Each of us has a proven track record of innovation and success and, together, we share an independent, impartial and inclusive approach in our drive for excellence in ourselves, our learners and our clients.”

Further, the founding partners comment: “We’re dedicated to the development of our learners’ potential and to the provision of choice, pathways, mentorship, support and leadership for experienced and new members of our profession. Our collective strength and capability is based on the fusion of our expertise and excellence in our individual fields, offering a compelling training, education and professional development proposition on any scale from the individual right through to large organisations and Governments.”

The Security Consortium’s Board is led by chair Professor Phillip Wood MBE CSyP FSyI CPP SIRM HonMBCI, the head of school for security and aviation at Buckinghamshire New University. Wood is supported by Simon Whitehouse CSyP FSyI CPP PSP MIET RISC MIAPSC, a highly-experienced security professional who established SGW Safety and Security Ltd, the industry-respected security consultancy and training company, back in 2003.

Fellow Board members include Patrick Smith (Emeritus Professor and director at the Silverback Security Academy, itself a recognised security consultancy and training company), Duncan Godfrey BSc (Hons) SIRM FRGS (head of operations at Frontier Risks Group, the security, risk and medical training consultancy) and Alan Meyrick MSc MSyl CPP CCTP, an experienced security practitioner and currently a security consultant at SGW Safety and Security Ltd.

Mentoring and education

Services offered by The Security Consortium include mentoring, education, consultancy and defined pathways. The mentorship programme allows access to The Security Consortium’s deep and extensive sector expertise and has the overriding aim of transforming theoretical and practical knowledge gained through a given individual’s learning and consultancy outcomes into applied and effective capability.

When an individual practitioner applies for and signs up to the mentoring scheme, they will then be linked to one or more of The Security Consortium’s specialists who will guide them through the stages and phases, actions and processes needed to build their capability. The Security Consortium states: “We use our knowledge, experience, networks and affiliates to identify a plan for individual development and will link you to associations, institutions and the wider global security and risk community to expose you to the opportunities and ideas that will help in shaping your future.”

The Security Consortium’s training and education programmes allow individuals, companies and organisations alike to access learning at all levels, from the beginner stage through to post-graduate degree-level. The Security Consortium will provide impartial guidance and advice on which will best suit the learner. Using the ‘Escalator’ progression route, individuals will be able to start, progress, pause and step away from their learning journey through linked and collaborative programmes.

This connected and sequential approach towards learning development allows access to a wide range of options and opportunities supported by the collective knowledge and experience of The Security Consortium’s experienced team of educators, trainers and specialists. Everything is covered, from short courses through to Master’s degrees for individuals or bespoke company and organisational development programmes.

Specialist consultancy

The Security Consortium brings together a diverse group of trusted advisors and specialists from academia, training and education, including Chartered engineers and Chartered Security Professionals validated through The Security Institute and The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals.

The combined experience of The Security Consortium’s member companies enables the founding partners to offer seamless consultancy provision and advice underpinned by ‘real life’ solutions learned from operational exposure as well as professional career development within the security sector.

The Security Consortium observes: “You may be a Government department looking to engage with security sector leaders for advice and support regarding the design and development of security education frameworks, a corporate organisation looking for security advisory services, seeking a work package created for a bespoke in-house security requirement or development programme or an individual wanting project or research-based support within your sector.”

Following receipt of an enquiry, The Security Consortium will then allocate a suitably qualified engagement lead with a view towards the fulfilment of a complex security requirement and to further address sector-specific needs.

The portfolio of consultancy services offered by The Security Consortium includes bespoke course design and content creation, academic and professional pathway development, the creation of security-related Concept of Operations training programmes, security career development market research, security sector research, development and testing programmes, objective assessments of security’s operational effectiveness and also core security-related services focusing on risk assessments, security systems audits and security strategy design.

Vision of innovation

Phillip Wood commented: “We’re all extremely excited about The Security Consortium and where it may go. If new entrants into the sector or established individuals and organisations share our vision to innovate, break barriers, be inclusive and give opportunities to those who may not have previously had them, then it can go as high and as far as it needs to.”

Wood continued: “We have the ability to continue to take what we do to a global audience as individual organisations, but also now as a collective, and we will continue to build and develop relationships so that those who do want the best that the UK can offer in this field are able to access what we do.”

In conclusion, Wood observed: “We will only be limited by the ambition of others. If people 'get what we do' then the potential is unlimited. This desire to unlock potential is a shared aspiration for every member and partner of The Security Consortium, and of course is a core element of the Bucks New University raison d’être.”

*Further information is available by visiting The Security Consortium’s website at https://thesecurityconsortium.com/consultancy