The South African Institute of Security (SAIS) was established in 1978 to promote the advancement of professionalism in the security industry through security training, education and development at all levels, something seen as essential as the security requirements of the country have changed beyond all recognition during those 28 years, largely as the result of legislation and the expansion of tertiary education.
Institute members are invariably from the managerial and operational areas of the business with many having achieved high levels of success in academic studies, such as Dr Gavriel Schneider who was the first student to complete UNISA’s master’s degree programme followed by being the first to complete his doctorate. Following on from these achievements, Johan du Plooy and Eytan Nevo recently completed their master’s degrees without meeting the normal entry requirement of a bachelor’s degree as UNISA were able to show that their experience and training within the industry was sufficient to meet their stringent entry requirements.
Alongside such changes, security requirements, education and training have evolved worldwide, particularly with the development of international and national standards, such as those for Risk Management, Security Management and Information Security Management with more being developed every year, including those relating to private security company operations and the training of a selection of private security officers. These developments have resulted in a wide range of security-related training programmes, accreditations and certifications outside of South Africa’s conventional education and training framework, but highly relevant to security managers and decision makers within the security arena.
After consultation across the industry, SAIS has developed a framework for endorsing such programmes to ensure that they are: relevant to the local security environment, offer value for money for participants and provide opportunities for the continuous professional development of security professionals. The framework will also consider international professional certifications for membership of the Institute, normally reserved for those with academic qualifications.
The endorsement programme was overseen by Prof. Kris Pillay of UNISA and subject to regular review by his team of industry experts and verification by the Institute’s Board of Governors.
The programme was formally launched at a workshop on Education and Training within the Security Sector on 8th March 2016 and the first endorsement certificates presented to initial applicants.
For further information on the endorsement programme, or other matters relating to the Institute, please contact the chairman, Dave Dodge at [email protected] or on +27 (0)78 633 9001.
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