For years, the security industry has identified issues like the aging workforce and talent shortage as being among its chief concerns. Individual companies do what they can to address this, but there are also organizations and associations that are pushing plenty of powerful workforce acquisition and training initiatives to propel the industry into the next generation of talent.
Ahead, SDM speaks with experts from Axis Communications, Johnson Controls, SIA and more to shed light on what strategies and initiatives are proving most fruitful in talent acquisition and training.
SDM: How does your company/organization approach talent acquisition?
Gordon: It’s really important that we’re attracting the right people, that we’re looking in the right places, and that we’re pushing our preconceived notions of what an ideal candidate is, because the industry is changing rapidly.
The community is expecting different things in a lot of ways and it’s important for us to ensure that while we are looking to bring on new talent, that we’re looking in different places. From a manufacturing perspective, it’s really important for us to be an organization who is not afraid to bring people on who may not have a security background.
Palome: It’s important for HR professionals to create job postings that appeal to all generations and potential candidates, including using gender-neutral and inclusive language, which helps ensure a broad and diverse pool of candidates. Crafting postings that highlight the company’s culture and values, while being mindful of language, not only attracts a broader range of talent but also excites prospects about the opportunity to work in an environment that embraces innovation, respect, and inclusivity.
Schade: Johnson Controls takes a proactive and strategic approach to talent acquisition to address the growing need for skilled technicians to support and manage smart building systems. The company’s programs, JCI Academy and the Community College Partnership Program, offer support, both monetarily and through technical education, to help students prepare for career paths in sustainable building practices. Partnering with Lincoln Tech for JCI Academy and 30 community colleges for the Community College Partnership Program, Johnson Controls ensures that participants gain hands-on experience, effectively preparing them for real-world building systems challenges.
Aragon: We have core values here at PSA — passion, integrity, boldness and service — and we put those in our job descriptions. In hiring, we make sure that the candidate feels like a fit for those core values. We want to make sure they would not just have the aptitude and the background to do the job, but also that their personality will be a culture fit for PSA as well.
This sounds kind of harsh to say, but I repeat it to myself regularly — hire slow and fire fast. I think that oftentimes we do the reverse. We hire really fast because we’re panicked about getting the right person for the job; but you’re going to lose time if you end up hiring the wrong person. It’s hard to part with people sometimes, even when we know they’re not a fit. It does everybody a disservice if we’re not having those honest conversations. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but it’s a mantra I try to employ.
Reges: We recently developed a new security industry careers guide, which provides an overview of different job roles and opportunities. It breaks down wage and comp structure, what the day-to-day workload looks like, and opportunities for advancement. It gives a nice picture for someone who may be interested in the security industry, and it provides a path for career progression. That’s a document that we are circulating to schools and colleges, through a concerted effort between the SIA Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST), created in partnership with ESA.
PSA Security Network is also a partner on this industry outreach initiative to promote the careers guide. We’ve partnered to do some direct outreach to schools and colleges, and also promote a workforce development ambassador program where we’re encouraging our members to essentially adopt a college or school to build relationships with their career services department. They work with that department to find out how they can participate in job fairs, and how they can make students aware of job opportunities, not only within the industry, but directly with their organization.
Hawkins: There’s one more that she left for me. It’s one that I’ve worked the most directly on. SIA has a group called Veterans in Security. As part of that, we just launched what we’re calling the Veterans Employment Exchange. It’s a unique platform that is able to take veterans’ job codes within the military and translate that into skills that match with open positions in the security industry. It’s a great job matching tool, not just a jobs board.

Security Experts Talk Incentivizing Training & Improving Acquisition
How do organizations not only attract talent but ensure they have the right talent? What does modern training curriculum look like? How do you get employees/members to want to seek it out?
Listen to more from The SDM Editor's Podcasts.
SDM: Are there any industry-wide initiatives that have been helpful for your company/organization?
Gordon: I really like — I won’t name a specific company because there are a lot of organizations that are doing this — putting together digestible ‘security 101’ training syllabi and curriculums. This is stuff that allows someone to quickly get up to speed on the fundamentals of electronic security or the broader security ecosystem.
I like providing mediums for people to do so in ways that allow them both to do their day job but also to pursue professional development on their own time as well: on-demand learning, podcasts, digestible videos. These mediums don’t require a full week away from home or out of work.
Palome: Industry associations such as SIA and ASIS provide career guides, salary surveys and job descriptions that can be helpful for talent acquisition. In addition, the Career Zone at ISC East and ISC West are places where you can stop by and gain insights and best practices from other companies about how they’re attracting, recruiting, onboarding and retaining talent.
Radford: Allied Universal Technology Services continues to partner with PSA TEC annually for connection opportunities, fantastic education sessions and workshops that explore new trends. We take time to do team building and professional development.
Aragon: I don’t know if you teed me up on purpose, but PSA has partnered with the Security Industry Association (SIA) and we’ve created the Security Industry Careers Guide. It’s such a cool resource. I’ve learned so much about the industry. It really frames up nicely just how big the industry is, what kinds of things that we’re doing and the problems that we’re solving.
It also goes into very specific careers, work-life balance, expected compensation, education needed, as well as opportunities for advancement. It really paints a picture of just the depth and breadth of opportunity within our industry. The next phase is creating an outreach program.
Obviously, PSA is coming from the lens of integrators. We’re going to be helping our integrators reach out to their local colleges, universities, and trade schools to disseminate this guide and really build relationships so that we can hopefully develop a pipeline of talent.
Reges: One of the best things that came out of FAST this year was an updated wage and compensation survey. They published that this summer, and it has accurate data across job roles. It’s very comprehensive. We use that to inform our security industry careers guide, and it’s a very helpful tool for benchmarking across the industry.
People call it the ‘TikTok-ification’ or the ‘YouTube-ifcation’ of training. In your personal time, when you need information to accomplish a task you go to YouTube. This makes it easier and less intimidating for really talented individuals to join what appears to be a very niche community.
SDM: Has your company/organization changed its approach to training recently? If so, what are some of the most recent updates/improvements?
Gordon: People call it the ‘TikTok-ification’ or the ‘YouTube-ifcation’ of training. In your personal time, when you need information to accomplish a task you go to YouTube. This makes it easier and less intimidating for really talented individuals to join what appears to be a very niche community.
The more progressive organizations are figuring out ways to put digestible content on YouTube so that I can go program a panel in the field. I don’t have to waste time at the office. I don’t have to spend downtime that’s impacting the profitability of the job. It’s also impacting — most importantly — the speed of the install for the end user for me to sit there reading manuals and trying to figure out what I need to do to do this install.
And if I run into a hiccup I quickly get onto the AMAG YouTube site and I can search for what I need. We don’t need to call in a secondary tech who’s been doing it for 20 years. We don’t need to call in and wait on customer support to try and help.
Radford: Yes, Allied Universal Technology Services works on interactive training for our technicians with real-world scenarios they might encounter on a project. In addition, we are working toward building career paths for every position, along with the training needed to get them to their next position within the company.
Schade: We recently expanded our Johnson Controls Academy program, which is specifically designed to annually hire and train over 300 security and fire installation and service technicians across the U.S. This expansion doubled our training capacity by opening a new site at Lincoln Tech’s Denver campus, complementing our existing program in Columbia, Maryland. The academy provides an intensive six-week training course that includes on-site housing and relocation support for participants, alongside one year of retention coaching post-graduation. With direct pathways to careers that align with market needs and the proper tools to excel in the workforce, the program helps ensure technicians are equipped for the increasingly complex buildings industry.
Aragon: We’ve always had a learning management system here for integrators at PSA, but in 2023 we rolled out PSA University, which is our new learning management system. In addition to the content that we’ve curated, we’re also partnering with third party providers like Vector Firm, and Security CEU.
We’re offering those courses that our integrators can buy for their employees, and PSA has a program called Training Bucks where when our integrators purchase through PSA, they get a portion back in training bucks that they can use to send their employees to PSA TEC or to do things like certifications.
We’re also developing career paths. It may be job function or project management related — we’re working on a technician path right now. That’s another thing that we’ve been doing through PSA University where our integrators can go in and specifically tap into direct career paths that they’re looking at for their employees.
Reges: During the pandemic, we needed to transition all of our training to online virtual deliveries. At this point, we see demand for the ease of use that virtual learning provides. There is higher demand for that to be paired with interactive labs, exercises, or hands-on learning. We find that we’re very successful in delivering virtual training, but it’s most successful when coupled with on-the-job experience.
Our apprenticeship program is designed in that format. You front load the education to prepare an individual with those skills, and then you reinforce the learning with on-the-job activities or work behaviors. The individual is able to apply what they’re learning with the help of a mentor, a supervisor or a journeyman.
We’re seeing the most success in a blended approach to learning and training. And I think the biggest challenge nowadays — now that the world is open and everyone’s busier than ever — is just competing for valuable time.
SDM: What industry-wide resources (from organizations, associations, etc.) have proved most helpful in training your employees/members?
Gordon: I think SIA’s overall curriculum is in-depth and affordable, so we've added that to our internal training curriculum. Training should be something that isn’t just required. There’s an opportunity for people to go and learn. We should provide our employees the opportunity to develop themselves on things that maybe their job doesn’t say they need to do, but their passion says that they’d like to do.
Palome: Resources provided by SIA and ASIS such as scholarship programs, certification programs, grants training courses, SIA Cornerstones and the TIME mentorship program, are very helpful and we actively promote them within Axis. In several cases, Axis has contributed content to these industry training programs.
Radford: Allied Universal Technology Services uses Precipio, a version of Skillsoft, for a large percentage of training. We have partnered with the SecurityCEU platform to provide additional resources for project managers, technicians and engineers.
Aragon: We have PSA University, which is a great tool. Attending industry events, specifically the ones that are really training focused like PSA TEC, ISC West and ISC East.
I love Security LeadHER. There are many good events in our industry, but these are the ones that are really specifically focused around training. We have so many PSA integrators that are utilizing the SIA training as well. There’s certified security project management, SICC, OSDP. These are trainings that we will even allow PSA members from time to time to use their training bucks on because we know how valuable they are to our systems integrators.
Reges: I would always recommend SIA’s portfolio of learning and development initiatives. We have our project management, training courses, and OSDP bootcamp, which is one of the more technical focused training courses. We also have our certifications in project management and the security industry cybersecurity certification.
I would also highly recommend involvement in some professional networking groups. Not only do you gain education and build your knowledge of the industry through classroom-based education, but there’s a lot of value in participating in groups like RISE, SIA’s young professionals community, the Women in Security community, and our Veterans in Security community.”
Hawkins: One other learning and development program that is really valuable is Cornerstones. It’s something that I’ve had the opportunity to work on multiple times to help to develop a couple modules.
It’s a great introduction to certain key topics within the security industry. It’s great for people who are new to the industry. I think there are several companies who use it as part of their onboarding process.
And the reason it’s front-of-mind for me is because it’s relevant to veterans who might be coming into the industry. It’s a way to get your head around the industry’s key concepts — access control, video surveillance, critical infrastructure security, and a few more — within a pretty short time span.
We’re focused on making sure that we’re telling the story, not just of installing security systems, but also the outcome of those security systems.
SDM: Can you offer an outlook on the future of talent acquisition and/or training?
Gordon: It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a part of this industry. It feels like we are in this moment where we’re having a very healthy exchange between diverse industries and diverse generations. We are having influence at all levels of our community from different industries that were not really involved in this space before — and different generations. We’re spanning — in many cases — three generations that each have an impact on the way that organizations need to think about serving the community.
I really do feel like we are seeing norms challenged more now than we have in a very long time. The status quo is certainly being shaken up and that’s awesome. That’s how growth happens. It’s good to see us all get a little bit uncomfortable and be comfortable with that.
Radford: The outlook is very bright for Allied Universal Technology Services. We want every employee to have the ability to grow, learn and feel like they make a difference, and do that through investment in their growth and learning.
Aragon: I think it’s improving so much. I mentioned the great work that FAST, SIA, ESA, and PSA are all doing. I think we’re all making a concerted effort because we see the challenge of just an aging industry. We want to make sure that our industry stays strong.
We’re one of the most vital industries in the world. I think that we’re focusing a lot more on the branding of our industry. We’re focused on making sure that we’re telling the story, not just of installing security systems, but also the outcome of those security systems.
Reges: We’re a tech-focused industry with a very special purpose. That’s what keeps a lot of us who are in the industry here. We know that what we do every day is very important to protecting our communities, the places we love to go and our own assets.
If you get people who believe in that message and are really excited to do some tech-forward things, they can really find a home here. Walking around ISC West 20 years ago versus now is probably night and day in terms of the types of technology you’re seeing, even the types of companies who are exhibiting and being featured.
It just shows where the industry is headed. A lot of new players are coming in and a lot of investments are being made in security technology. We’re certainly entering into a new era.