Pictured above: Steve Brazier and Tracey Griffin, of the Security Industry Training Academy and Security Networks UK, have trained and recruited 20 guards with support from Pertemps People Development Group and Aston Pride New Deal for Communities

The future is secure for a group of Birmingham people who have overcome long-term unemployment and clinched jobs in a sector that is booming.

Twenty men and women have been recruited as security guards after receiving support from Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) and Aston Pride New Deal for Communities.

The two organisations joined forces to give local people the best possible chance of finding a job despite the current tough economic climate.

Great Barr-based Security Networks UK Ltd has employed 20 PPDG clients in the last 12 months to satisfy the growing demand for security staff at sports stadiums, construction sites, office blocks, and events such as Birmingham's German market.

Managing director Tracey Griffin is delighted with the high standard of recruits supplied by the Aston Pride initiative through PPDG's Newtown Advancement Centre. And she believes there will be many more opportunities as the company, which employs 147 guards, continues to grow.

She said: "The quality of the candidates presented to us by PPDG has been very high. We look at time-keeping, presentation and enthusiasm and very often these qualities shine through with these candidates. As soon as we starting working alongside PPDG and Aston pride we bonded and formed a very close relationship with them.

"We are delighted with our recruits who bring our workforce up to close to 150 guards, and we'll be looking to recruit many more in the months to come. There are lots of opportunities for anyone interested in a career in security and it is a sector which is going to boom.

"With the Olympics taking place next year organisers will be crying out for guards. The US team will be based at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham and the Jamaican team at Birmingham University, so the demand at a local level will be huge. We are also hoping to take on the security at another couple of football stadiums, so we will need to recruit many more guards.

"My message to anyone considering a career in security is that now is the time to get yourself trained because there is going to be a lot of opportunity. We have former engineers, solicitors and people from all sorts of backgrounds who have been made redundant and have chosen to follow a new career path." 

The new recruits were all recommended by PPDG to attend the Security Industry Training Academy and successfully completed the Security Industry Association's (SIA) door supervisor course before being offered a job, ending their unemployment ordeals.

PPDG delivers the Government's Welfare to Work strategy across the Midlands through Flexible New Deal, Work Focused Training and other employment initiatives. PPDG is using its vast experience of helping long-term unemployed people get back into work to help local jobseekers secure employment opportunities.

PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits, confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus, PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000 job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the company since the projects began.  It has trained 130,000 people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance services.

Aston Pride - a 10-year, £54 million regeneration initiative - aims to transform the economic culture of Aston by reducing unemployment and raising household incomes.  It encourages residents to aspire to achieve their fullest potential and collaborate in acquiring a sense of common purpose and community identity.  It is also providing intelligent support for training, learning, the social economy, and business investment and development.