This will now enable them to work at a number of events, including the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. All students that complete the course are guaranteed an interview to work at the Olympics. If they are successful, they will perform a range of duties to ensure spectator safety as well as having a qualification to enable them to get other paid employment in the security and events industry afterwards.
This is being run in conjunction with the Bridging the Gap programme and Fareham College is the lead Bridging the Gap College in the area. The course is currently being offered by around 80 Further Education colleges across the country, each providing students with specialist qualifications to work as part of a highly trained and motivated workforce to help support the venue security operation at the Games. The project is directly inspired by the security requirements for London 2012 and aims to address the ongoing skills shortage in the security industry.
There have been students from all subject areas who have completed the course including Ryan Jones. Ryan, 17, from Fareham, who was one of the first Year 1 National Diploma Uniformed Services students to complete the qualification, said:
‘I did it because I was told there may be an opportunity to work at the Olympics. It’s good because employers are always looking for additional qualifications.’
As a result of this qualification, several students have already been able to work at events such as football matches, festivals and recently ran the security for the fireworks at Ranvilles Junior School.
