I think the big sports day is far enough gone now for me to share my experiences of working for the big company that kept everyone safe on the big event
When the call went out for people to provide security on the big sports day i quite fancied the sound of that. It looked interesting and so I filled in the form and waited to see what happened. Now many years back I used to run the door on a large nightclub. Nightclub was often nightmare as in the unregulated world of private security going into a situation I was often more scared of what the guys behind me might do than what the guys in front of me were doing.
Thankfully all that has gone and I passed the application stages and got an interview. The interview went well and I was promised I would be put forward for a team leader post - my was that a lucky escape as i was later to find.
Weeks passed and they called me up for training, 2 days notice on a week when I had a full diary so I could not do it. Months the passed and I got the call to go for training in a town 120 miles away. This was a bit impractical so I asked about expenses only to be told they didn't pay any.
Cosmic, booked myself into a B&B in the town I used to live in before we moved here OK truth and honesty time I actually booked myself a room in what had been my regular watering hole before we moved down here. This was looking to be a seriously expensive week then!
So, day one in to the training venue that offered no parking and day one of the course. It was a bit of a culture shock coming to somewhere that has public transport, a train that left every 15 minutes for town.
The training venue itself was a pretty low rent sort of place with not a lot to recommend it. Social Services use some pretty crummy venues but this was pretty grim. Neither had the big company thought much about it's trainees, tea and coffee could be had if you went outside and bought it. we only got water when the instructors kicked up a fuss.
The training though, it has to be said was good. Good to the point where I thought this would be really useful to new foster carers, especially the bits about managing confrontation.
There has been some criticism in the media from some journo who got inside the training, I can only speak as I found, we had three trainers, local girl, man in black and little ninja. (Names changed to protect the guilty).
Man in black was an astonishing trainer though you got this bad gut feeling that he might have avery exotic past. Local girl was the lead trainer on physical intervention and you really would not want to mess with her.
The group were very diverse from university students to unemployed people - the sort the government would try to portray to you as feckless. The unemployed were the people I ended up feeling most sorry for, the big firm had plucked them off the dole cue, offered them a door supervisor qualification and said it was a pathway to work.
Thing was these people needed support, 4.50 a day rail fare was a bit of a nuisance to me, but, 4.50 was nearly 10% of these peoples dole every week
The job centre would not help, the big company would not help, these people were really struggling.
I got through the week and actually I really loved the course - it was seriously good.
Only one tiny little fly in the ointment, little Ninja runs this course in Further Education institution just down the road from me, so rather than doing the course 120 miles away I could have done it close to home.
The next step was accreditation, issuing of licences by LOCOG, I got a summons that told me I had to present myself at Games Day HQ in Stafford with only 48 hours notice. How would the guys off the dole cue have found the money for that?
Not something the big company seemed to care about.
This was another reality check, having driven to the capital, parked up and taken the underground across town, the student and I arrived at the screening centre. When I was there I thought the place was Al Quaida heaven. The front of the building was pretty security solid but, as I stood in a long line of people all waiting to be processed. I could see so many uncovered ways and routes in that is was simply frightening.
It was scary stuff, having waited in line for an hour I spent 5 minutes being checked and got issued with papers.
Terry Taliban could have minced us up to nothing and walked in through gaps you could drive a bus through.
Having gone up there on a mission I was told that uniform was not there for me - even though lots of others got it.
Then again what I did not know was that there was a issuing point just up the road from me, well ok maybe not next door, but in the place I eventually went on to work in. A lot closer than the capital. It turned out lucky for me that I went all the way up the motorway....
To be continued...
R
When the call went out for people to provide security on the big sports day i quite fancied the sound of that. It looked interesting and so I filled in the form and waited to see what happened. Now many years back I used to run the door on a large nightclub. Nightclub was often nightmare as in the unregulated world of private security going into a situation I was often more scared of what the guys behind me might do than what the guys in front of me were doing.
Thankfully all that has gone and I passed the application stages and got an interview. The interview went well and I was promised I would be put forward for a team leader post - my was that a lucky escape as i was later to find.
Weeks passed and they called me up for training, 2 days notice on a week when I had a full diary so I could not do it. Months the passed and I got the call to go for training in a town 120 miles away. This was a bit impractical so I asked about expenses only to be told they didn't pay any.
Cosmic, booked myself into a B&B in the town I used to live in before we moved here OK truth and honesty time I actually booked myself a room in what had been my regular watering hole before we moved down here. This was looking to be a seriously expensive week then!
So, day one in to the training venue that offered no parking and day one of the course. It was a bit of a culture shock coming to somewhere that has public transport, a train that left every 15 minutes for town.
The training venue itself was a pretty low rent sort of place with not a lot to recommend it. Social Services use some pretty crummy venues but this was pretty grim. Neither had the big company thought much about it's trainees, tea and coffee could be had if you went outside and bought it. we only got water when the instructors kicked up a fuss.
The training though, it has to be said was good. Good to the point where I thought this would be really useful to new foster carers, especially the bits about managing confrontation.
There has been some criticism in the media from some journo who got inside the training, I can only speak as I found, we had three trainers, local girl, man in black and little ninja. (Names changed to protect the guilty).
Man in black was an astonishing trainer though you got this bad gut feeling that he might have avery exotic past. Local girl was the lead trainer on physical intervention and you really would not want to mess with her.
The group were very diverse from university students to unemployed people - the sort the government would try to portray to you as feckless. The unemployed were the people I ended up feeling most sorry for, the big firm had plucked them off the dole cue, offered them a door supervisor qualification and said it was a pathway to work.
Thing was these people needed support, 4.50 a day rail fare was a bit of a nuisance to me, but, 4.50 was nearly 10% of these peoples dole every week
The job centre would not help, the big company would not help, these people were really struggling.
I got through the week and actually I really loved the course - it was seriously good.
Only one tiny little fly in the ointment, little Ninja runs this course in Further Education institution just down the road from me, so rather than doing the course 120 miles away I could have done it close to home.
The next step was accreditation, issuing of licences by LOCOG, I got a summons that told me I had to present myself at Games Day HQ in Stafford with only 48 hours notice. How would the guys off the dole cue have found the money for that?
Not something the big company seemed to care about.
This was another reality check, having driven to the capital, parked up and taken the underground across town, the student and I arrived at the screening centre. When I was there I thought the place was Al Quaida heaven. The front of the building was pretty security solid but, as I stood in a long line of people all waiting to be processed. I could see so many uncovered ways and routes in that is was simply frightening.
It was scary stuff, having waited in line for an hour I spent 5 minutes being checked and got issued with papers.
Terry Taliban could have minced us up to nothing and walked in through gaps you could drive a bus through.
Having gone up there on a mission I was told that uniform was not there for me - even though lots of others got it.
Then again what I did not know was that there was a issuing point just up the road from me, well ok maybe not next door, but in the place I eventually went on to work in. A lot closer than the capital. It turned out lucky for me that I went all the way up the motorway....
To be continued...
R
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