The security industry in the UK is awash with accreditations – and rightly so; the stakes are high, with lives and livelihoods to protect and preserve. There needs to be a mechanism for vetting those who choose to work in this area, from directors and executives to those delivering vital services at the coal face. And the UK government regulator, the Security Industry Authority (SIA), is charged with putting the rules and frameworks in place to ensure professionalism and commitment from the many individuals who work under their umbrella.
The SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) is the most widely recognised accreditation for businesses providing front-line security services, and serves logically as a minimum requirement for any security company that joins AURA’s network. If you request a response from AURA, you are guaranteed the guard who arrives on site (typically within 30 minutes!) works for an ACS approved organisation.
More than simply ensuring AURA’s network is fully accredited, we are committed to cultivating partnerships which offer benefits and opportunities for all stakeholders:
We look beyond the accreditations alone and strive to partner with businesses that share our vision for a new paradigm where everyone wins. We partner with security companies that share our passion for delivering results that benefit society and lessen the impacts of crime, and believe in the value of being part of something connected, something bigger.
I’ve worked for organisations where I’ve led programmes of work to achieve a variety of accreditations, including the likes of ISO 27001 and ISO 9001. I’ve seen the risks first-hand of these accreditations becoming box-ticking exercises; of policies being drafted to satisfy an auditor without necessarily being deeply embedded into the day-to-day working habits of the team members.
Official frameworks are important – they provide guidance and context and help shape operating models and governance structures. But the culture of a company and the values behind the policies often count for so much more, and at AURA we also look for alignment of values and look to build working relationships that allow us to understand the ethos of the companies we work with and what they stand for. Without that alignment, misunderstandings can arise, and we’re big on constructive collaboration – the way we see it, everyone can win here.
So if you’re an ACS security company with response vehicles on the road and want to be part of delivering a better service for the people of the UK, join us! Our network is growing by the week, as is our customer base, and we’d love to have you on board.