The International Foundation for Protection Officers is pleased to announce that its security competency model has been accepted by the Competency Model Clearing House, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The CMC is an online information center that presents the "gold standard" for the skills, abilities and knowledge necessary to reach full potential in any of several dozen professions.

Individuals interested in a career in security can use the model as a guide to determine what they need to succeed in the security industry. Likewise, security companies can gain an understanding of what they should be looking for in a candidate and educators.

"This competency model is the result of several years of hard work completed by a number of contributing security professionals from around the world," said Dr. Glen Kitteringham, who helped design the security competency model for the IFPO. "It was built on the work and insight of thousands of front line security practitioners as well as security management and security academics from multiple countries. I credit the CMC for their time and expertise in working with IFPO and contributing to the development of this model."

The IFPO's model is significant because it shows the complexity of today’s security work and will form the foundation for the necessary training that officers require to be successful, he said.

In addition, it establishes the IFPO as the global leader in supporting and developing officers, supervisors and trainers, Kitteringham said.