College learners to play key Olympics security role

College learners could have a part to play in keeping the Olympic Games in 2012 safe, according to Lord Sebastian Coe KBE.

Current Level 2 supervisory learners will be guaranteed interviews to become a part of the Olympic security team next year, he said.

The chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games told FE News: “…It is about making sure that we have enough people who have basic security training so door supervisors, door supervisory work, at level two up until March will allow everybody that has reached that level to then get an interview for a role at the games.”

However, he added, it is no guarantee that those learners will be awarded the roles but they would be trained to a sufficient level to apply.

Concerns over potential gaps in security have been widely reported this week with the US expressing worries over security. The Olympic Games could need as many as 11,000 additional skilled security personnel after original estimates of 10,000 security staff in March, were upped to 21,000 following a detailed planning review over the summer.

Lord Coe said it was important to appoint the right volunteers, or games makers, calling them “the difference between a good and a great games”.

He said: “The quality of your security team, not just simply about the process of securing a venue but actually how they interact with people in a queue while they are going through that system, these are all really great skills sets and it is important we get the right people and this is what bridging the gap is about.”

Lord Coe also said colleges had been involved in the Olympics through the provision of skills such as catering and creative design. He said colleges were spreading the message of the Olympic movement and he hoped the games would leave them with valuable skills sets as a result.

Lewis Dyson