The Electronic Security Association (ESA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA) are collaborating on a joint strategy to help their members identify, recruit and retain qualified employees for a variety of professional roles within manufacturer and integrator businesses.   

These workforce development efforts — guided by the input of a task force of SIA and ESA members — will align on three key objectives: outreach to schools, colleges and universities to increase awareness of the security industry and the broad range of careers available; research on the industry’s workforce development challenges and possible solutions; and continuing education programs to help those already in the industry stay current with rapidly evolving technologies.

Members of the ESA and SIA task force include: Steve Firestone, president, Select Security; Andrew Lanning, co-founder, Integrated Security Technologies; Eva Mach, CEO, Pro-Tec Design; Jeremy McLerran, director of marketing, Qolsys; Shuvankar Roy, vice president, Comcast-Xfinity Home IoT Connected Home Strategy & Operations; Kerri Sutherland, talent partner, Axis Communications; Don Erickson, CEO, SIA; Merlin Guilbeau, CEO, ESA; Jillian Bateman, chief development officer, ESA; and Ron Hawkins, director of industry relations, SIA.

According to the 2019 SIA Security Megatrends report and ESA Member Surveys, workforce development imperatives are consistently ranked among the highest concerns of both SIA and ESA members.

“There is a war for talent taking place across industries today,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “The security industry needs to quickly rise above the competition for hiring qualified talent and distinguish itself as a compelling and rewarding source of employment for high school and college students and individuals who are in career transition. SIA is pleased to work with ESA to elevate the profile of the industry and lead the development of solutions to solve the number one business issue facing our membership.”

“The skilled labor shortage is reaching a critical point,” said Merlin Guilbeau, CEO of ESA. “We’re seeing climbing demand and shortfalls in applicant pools. For some time now, we’ve been working to arm our members with tools and resources for finding skilled talent, becoming employers of choice and becoming more methodical about their hiring and onboarding processes. However, as an industry, if we don’t do something impactful together — the long-term impact will be devastating. We are happy to join forces with SIA on such an important initiative.”