The Naples, Florida-based ‘International Foundation for Protection Officers’ (IFPO) has recently taken steps to promote their certifications such as the IFPO CPO (Certified Protection Officer) in the UK. Established in 1988 as a non-profit, the IFPO aims to address the training and certification needs of security and protection officers with over 80,000 certifications having already been achieved.
The IFPO CPO course covers a range of competencies including Crisis intervention, career planning, security risk management, effective communications as well as numerous other topics.
In order to achieve this goal, the IFPO has appointed Mike Hurst, CPP as their representative in the UK. Mr. Hurst is well known in the UK Security Industry, possessing over 30 years of experience and holding a number of high profile positions including the Vice-Chairmanship of ASIS UK, a directorship at the Security Institute as well as being a co-founder of Allsecurityevents.com.
On his appointment, Mike Hurst says ” The role of the security officer can sometimes, wrongly, be undervalued. Through certifications such as CPO the IFPO seeks to raise the professional standing of security officers and put individuals on a career path. I often hear security companies complain that it is hard to differentiate themselves from others offering a less good service. Training officers to achieve CPO status, demonstrates a commitment to quality and customer service that sets them apart. I am delighted to play a role in this.”