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The Security Industry Authority opened a public consultation on August 28 on the biggest changes to UK security licence training in years. The regulator wants first aid and English language testing built into the requirements for a licence, alongside new course content covering drones, spiking and Martyn's Law. More than 450,000 people hold over 510,000 SIA licences across the United Kingdom.
The proposals follow a strategic review the SIA began in late 2025, shaped by 44 sector experts and input from more than 5,000 operatives, employers and police partners. Independent research found that 91 percent of licence holders view first aid as important to their role, and over half had used it on the job. The SIA now wants an in-date first aid qualification to become a licence condition for close protection operatives, door supervisors and security guards. Operatives who let a certificate lapse could face action.
Communication is the second focus. 81 percent of survey respondents called communication skills important to safe work. The SIA is proposing an additional independent English language test, with more standardized assessment across the awarding organizations that set the qualifications. The regulator says it wants confidence that operatives have the functional English needed to carry out their duties.
The review also responds to rising violence. SIA research shows 43 percent of licence holders are dealing with increasing violence at work, particularly in retail settings. The consultation proposes more real-world scenarios in conflict management training and a first-of-its-kind post-licence standard in advanced physical intervention for higher-risk deployments. It asks whether that standard should be voluntary or compulsory. Other proposed additions include crime scene preservation, updated drug-response guidance, wider spiking awareness, searching mobility devices, and handling drones and social media "auditing" activity.
Tim Archer, the SIA's executive director of licensing and standards, called the review "a strategic reset" for the industry. The regulator, which reviews its licence-linked qualifications every five years, said it ran this cycle differently by gathering views earlier and looking at the prerequisites for the job as well as the course content, as Facilities Management Journal reported. The consultation closes on October 23, with final specifications due in winter 2026 and new qualifications launching in 2027. The SIA is separately working with awarding organizations to make written exams harder to cheat.
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