The Secure Futures Programme – launched to encourage young people into the security industry
As part of its #NextGen initiative, the Security Institute is partnering with the EY Foundation, a social mobility charity which seeks to break down barriers to employment for less advantaged young people.
The Security Institute and the EY Foundation are striving to combine their relevant industry experience, for the benefit of both young people and the security industry at large.
Designed to make the security industry more attractive and accessible for young people, the partnership will help ensure that the industry is better equipped to tackle the ever-evolving security challenges faced across society.
The security industry is currently facing a range of complex issues, complicated further by new technologies and the increasingly global nature of our security threats. To effectively address these challenges, our workforce must be diverse and fully harness the unique knowledge and personal experiences of young people.
As the Director of the Security Institute’s #NextGen initiative, Paul Barnard MSyI, expressed passion for this cause: ‘Young people are an essential component of our workforce. They offer a fresh perspective and insights that can inform innovative solutions to long-standing issues.
‘There are so many areas of security where the younger generation can provide invaluable contributions, from the issues surrounding knife crime to emerging cybersecurity threats. We need to embrace young people and help nurture their skills, to help secure the sector’s future prospects.’
The proposed ‘Secure Futures’ programme will support thirty 16-18-year-olds from low-income backgrounds to access invaluable experience within the security industry, empowering them to consider pursuing careers working within the sector. The new bespoke employability programme will run for ten months and include skills training, professional mentoring and paid work experience.
We hope that by reaching out to the vast amount of untapped potential through this programme, we will help develop a diverse pipeline of talent for the industry.
In addition to the ‘Secure Futures’ programme, the Security Institute and the EY Foundation will seek to run the ‘National Security Challenge’. Working in small teams, young people will be set a challenge by security sector experts. This will help them gain insight into the vital work of the security industry and give them a taste of the different careers available within security. The one-day challenge will be run in a range of schools across the country, targeting over 300 young people from low-income households.
These two projects will highlight the variety of different career opportunities within the security sector, and emphasise the far-reaching positive impact that these careers can have on wider society.
This is an imperative investment in young people and requires support from across the industry to achieve its full potential.
Organisations can support the Secure Futures Programme in the following ways:
- Fund one or more young person to participate in the Secure Futures programme; £1,500 per person will pay for their work experience, paid employability training, mentoring, travel bursary and all additional HR and admin costs.
- Become one of four sponsors of the National Security Challenge (£10k per sponsor)
- Become a mentor, to guide and advise a young person at the start of their career journey.
- Offer your expertise to help run the skills training and improve the overall programme.
Contributing to this programme is a fantastic opportunity to champion young talent, and help the next generation of security professionals gain the skills they need to excel in this field.
For more information on how to support the Security Institute and EY Foundation Partnership, please contact:
Kathryn Eastwood Corporate Partnerships Leader
