1 “The early bird catches the worm” ~ Private security agencies (agencies) should heed this wise saying if they wish to enjoy first mover advantage in the national productivity drive within the private security industry. Mr Desmond Choo, Executive Secretary, Union of Security Employees (USE), highlighted this point this afternoon during a visit to OneBerry Technologies Pte Ltd (OneBerry), a security solutions developer that supplies manpower, equipment, software, remote monitoring and customised applications for security needs (Please see Annex A for more details ).
2 ES Desmond was referring to the $2 million First Mover Productivity Programme for the Security Industry (FMPSI) fund, carved out from the NTUC Inclusive Growth Programme[1] (IGP). The FMPSI serves to encourage agencies to embrace technology as a means to enhance productivity in the private security workforce and industry. It was rolled out on 1 May 2010 and administered by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
3 Both USE and NTUC’s e2i are leveraging the FMPSI to generate a multiplier effect among agencies, so that more would adopt security-related technology and empower their private security officers (PSO) with more skills and capabilities to perform higher value-added jobs and earn better pay. First movers on the FMPSI can seek funding assistance to implement technology-enabled systems like:
Bio-metric access and scheduling system
Agencies that apply for the FMPSI funding would need to fulfill criteria including:
4 To-date, $1 million from the FMPSI has been committed to 17 agencies, which are planning or have implemented such systems. More than 1,700 PSOs from these agencies are expected to benefit from skills enhancement and upgrading in areas like InfoComm and Technology and customer services, and are likely to enjoy salary increments ranging from 5% to 12%.
5 USE wants more agencies to be first movers and lead the way with the FMPSI. ES Desmond said, “We want to leverage technology in the private security industry, not as a means to cut headcount, as the industry still sees a strong demand for PSOs. Instead, we want to enable agencies with the right technology and equip PSOs with the right skills and knowledge, so as to raise their productivity and provide them with higher value-added jobs, which ultimately, should translate to better pay for them. This is a win-win approach for agencies and PSOs.”
6 Interlock Security & Investigation Services Pte Ltd (Interlock) is one such first mover to benefit from the FMPSI. With about 170 employees, it used to face challenges like manual job scheduling, delayed response time for emergencies and errors and missing records in visitors’ registration at various sites. With the FMPSI funding, Interlock adopted technology solutions, trained its PSOs and gave them higher job responsibilities and let them perform higher value-added jobs. As a result, their productivity was raised in terms of better response time and reduction in error rates. Consequently, the PSOs’ pay also increased by 11% from $1,400-$1,500 to $1,550-$1,650.
7 Thus, today’s visit to OneBerry by USE and 20 employer representatives from 14 agencies proved relevant and fruitful as the company specialises in applying automation solutions to security systems for residential, commercial and industrial projects, including:
8 Recounting USE’s journey in helping PSOs and the private security industry, ES Desmond noted, “USE has embarked on a challenging journey with NTUC and the tripartite partners several years ago to upgrade private security jobs and uplift PSOs’ professionalism, standards, image and pay so that they can better safeguard the interests of our community, society and nation. From job re-creation to industry redevelopment; and from issuing proper uniforms and a national Private Security Identification Card to PSOs, USE and industry partners have helped PSOs achieve better jobs and better pay in the last few years. With the FMPSI, USE can do more to help the industry and PSOs.”
