RED BADGE KICKS OFF MAJOR NEW TRAINING PUSH

From replacing the volunteer stewards at Eden Park in the ‘90s, to providing services to more than 25 international events in the last year, the Red Badge Group is clearly a progressive industry player.

The company's latest move in the training sphere is designed to demonstrate its commitment to leadership and excellence within its own business and the broader industry.

Red Badge Group director Andy Gollings (left) and Auckland regional manager Glenn Simpson

Red Badge has just signed up 500 new training agreements with ETITO and is rolling out a major new training initiative across its national operations. It hopes to have the majority of its security officers trained to National Certificate in Security [Level 2] within the next seven months.

Red Badge Group director Andy Gollings, who was among those early Eden Park guards, says the company has been committed to training for some time but what it is now embarking on will take its approach to a new level.

“This is about our commitment to our people, to the standard of service we deliver to our customers and to playing our part in further lifting the professionalism of the industry,” says Andy.

While Red Badge has about 1500 staff in its pool, most of them casual, the focus for training will be on those who are keen to develop their careers as security officers.

Red Badge regional manager Glenn Simpson says: “Level 2 is the minimum for us; we want to be able to see our people move on and gain Level 3 and 4 qualifications as well.”

The company will work with TSSL, as its training provider, and among a number of elements that will be key to the programme’s success, says Andy, is this partnership approach. “TSSL will be working with us as if they were our own internal training department, rather than an external supplier. And we will work closely with ETITO and our Training Manager Sarah Williams too to make sure we achieve the greatest success we can. This is about a true partnership approach.”

Red Badge’s management team - Glenn Simpson, Jo Faithfull, Adam DeBeer [Auckland], Simon Lawrence, Geoff Randall, Michael Barbour [Central], Phil Gollings [Wellington] and Adam Neilsen [South Island] will play a leading role in engaging staff in training.

Judging by the early responses from staff, they are very optimistic about the numbers who will make the most of the opportunity to gain new and higher qualifications. The management team takes no convincing. Made up of a mix of former defence force, police and business personnel, they have been walking the talk and have seen the very clear benefits of training over many years.

Glenn Simpson, ex-air force, is a clear example. Among his previous roles has been as a security trainer for Air New Zealand pilots and cabin crew.

“As a responsible employer and a provider of quality services to our customers, training is one of the many things we need to be doing – and want to be doing,” says Glenn.

The changes in the industry over the last decade and potential changes ahead make training even more vital.

“We’re now in an era that demands greater professionalism and accountability. It’s not just about security training anymore either. We need to ensure our people have the skills in broader areas such as customer service, hosting, presentation, and how to deploy, brief and manage people.”

Andy says the company is forging ahead with its training initiative despite the uncertainty around potential industry regulation and mandatory training.

“Five years ago we put in place a structure for industry training. We developed and rolled out a national plan that took us from hand written briefing notes to a robust system that continues to work well but we know we can’t stop there.

“We strive to keep ahead of the game and then even if the rules change we will be ahead of the game.”

Red Badge supports regulation and mandatory training.

“This change has been a long time coming,” says Glenn. “It can only be a positive thing for the industry, our staff and our customers.”

While the training will be useful in preparation for the Rugby World Cup, it is likely to be put to use before then. Red Badge, whose business is about 90% events and stadium focused, and the remainder in asset protection, is gearing up for the World Rowing Championships at Karapiro this October-November, having won the tender to provide services for an event bringing thousands of competitors and spectators from 50 countries.