Debbie Bruwer

Security job: Security Services Manager, VSG

When I left school, I had no clear career plans and after travelling for a while, I arrived in the UK sixteen years ago. I took on various jobs, then the opportunity arose to attend security bootcamp training. This taught me physical restraint techniques, together with other counter terrorism related areas, all quite exciting at the time!

I decided to stay in the UK and further my career in security within the corporate sector, eventually rising to assistant manager. I had a fantastic manager who gave me many opportunities to take on projects, attend client meetings and further my management experience.

There was one obstacle I needed to overcome: the fact that English is my second language. I decided to enrol on a BSc in Risk and Security Management at the University of Portsmouth. This allowed me to improve both my language skills and my security knowledge. I find the knowledge I gained useful every day in my current role.

I studied part-time for six years while continuing to work and progressed into more senior roles. After graduating, I moved organisation into a role where I was able to gain an extensive range of HR experience and a year later moved into my current account manager role. I am now fortunate to have continued mentoring from my line manager, tremendous support from my client and a great team that supports me to reach our daily objectives.

Current role

In my current role, I provide tactical direction and operational support with the aim of delivering exemplary customer services on site.  I include my team on all daily tasks and use any opportunity to actively train the next generation of security managers.

I love being able to use my experience to teach others who wish to progress. The more work you put into developing your deputies and supervisors, the more benefit you will get from knowing that you can trust them to make the right decision in your absence.

Always be there for them when they need you, but give them the knowledge and the power to make their own decisions.

You are only as strong as your team – use every opportunity available to teach and develop them.