Welcome to the Review of Security Licence Qualifications information hub. Here you’ll find:
Overview
We have begun a comprehensive strategic review of the qualifications and training required for SIA licences. This significant review aims to ensure security operatives have the skills and knowledge needed to keep themselves and the public safe in an increasingly complex protective security environment.
What’s being reviewed
The review will examine the content of licence-linked qualifications, including:
- New core content requirements
- Safety-critical skills such as physical intervention and searching
- Counter-terrorism content updates
- Emerging issues like dealing with social media auditors and using new technologies
- Current content on topics including spiking awareness and specialist searching techniques
- Specialist areas such as close protection
- Testing and demonstration of English language and first aid skills
The review will also look at training delivery standards, including technological innovation to prevent exam cheating, new quality requirements for training providers, and the expertise and qualifications required of trainers.
Why this matters
This review represents a strategic reset for the security industry. As well as updating content, the review will fundamentally examine how assessment and monitoring rules can be strengthened and how training courses are delivered, to ensure public confidence.
The new standards will ensure security operatives have essential, safety-critical skills whilst providing foundations for employers to deliver continuous, role-specific training.
Timeline
The review is expected to take 18 months from start to finish:
- November 2025 to January 2026: Engagement meetings, consultation exercises, surveys and webinars
- Early spring 2026: Public consultation on draft qualification specifications
- Summer 2026: Publication of final qualification specifications
- Autumn 2026 to spring 2027: Training and security sectors prepare for changes
- Spring 2027: New qualifications and assessment arrangements become mandatory
We will be posting a series of blogs and updates throughout this process which you can find here.
Industry engagement
The review will be informed by extensive engagement with security industry professionals, front line officers, supervisors, employers and training providers. Specialist expert working groups with real-world experience will review each course and make proposals to ensure they remain current and effective. If you have any questions about the review, you can contact us at skills@sia.gov.uk.
Webinar recordings
View the recording of our recent webinar aimed at security industry professionals, front line officers, supervisors, leaders, employers and those taking qualifications.
View the recoding of our recent webinar aimed at training providers, trainers and others involved in the delivery of vocational education and training.
Poll results
We conducted polls with the participants during both webinars. You can view the results below. If you would like to receive data in a different format or have any questions about the review you can contact us at skills@sia.gov.uk
The following poll results are from the webinars for front line officers, supervisors, leaders, employers and those taking qualifications
Question 1: Who are you?
Question 2: Do you hold a licence in one of these sectors? DS, SG, CCTV, CP, CViT, VI, Non Frontline
Question 3: Thinking back to your full qualification training experience, was the length of the course; too long, too short, about right
Question 4: Do you think what you learned in your licence-linked training equipped you for the work you do?
Question 5. My top up/refresher training was; too long, too short, the right length
Question 6: Is physical intervention needed for security guards?
Question 7: Do the current qualifications present unfair barriers to people entering the industry?
Question 8: Licence-linked qualifications should have more distance and on-line learning.
Question 9: Thinking back to your full qualification and training experience, was the level of content about right?
Question 10: My top up / refresher training was: too hard, too easy, about right as a refresher.
Question 11: Thinking back to your full qualification and training experience, the level of knowledge in the content: was the right level, should be higher, should be lower
Webinar for training providers
The following poll results are from the webinar for training providers
Q1. Who are you?
Q2. Do you hold one of the following licences: door supervision (DS), security guarding (SG), close protection (CP) public space surveillance (CCTV), cash and valuables in transit (CViT), vehicle immobilisation (VI), non-front line
Q3. For the full qualification, is the total time taken to deliver the qualification and assessment; too long, too short, about right?
Q4. For the full qualification, is the SIA minimum contact time; too long, too short, about right, there should not be a minimum contact time
Q5. Do the licence-linked qualifications give learners the safety-critical skills for the workplace?
Q6.Refresher training is: too long, too short, the right length
Q7. Should physical intervention be included for security guards?
Q8. Do the current qualifications present unfair barriers to people entering the industry?
Q9. Licence-linked qualifications should have more distance and on-line learning: yes, no
Q10. Research has told us that these are industry priority areas. Rank them in order of importance.
Q11.Is anything missing from the first-time qualification?
Q12. What should be removed from the first-time qualification?
Q13. Is anything missing from the refresher qualifications?
Q14. What should be removed from the refresher qualifications?
