Senate Training has been presented with the Skills for Security ‘Most Innovative Product or Training Aid Award’ for its BTEC in Understanding Counter Terrorism – the only nationally accredited qualification of its kind in the UK.

Run annually by Skills for Security, the awards recognise outstanding practice and commitment to raising the skills and professionalism of the security business sector through training and development. Senate’s entry was praised by judges for its BTEC accreditation and unique angle, which not only deals with the acts of terrorism, but also the understanding of the motives for terrorism.

Paul Keeling, Chief Executive of Senate Training, said: “We developed the BTEC Award as we felt existing security qualifications were too generic to deal with the security issues that surround the ongoing terrorist threat. Our aim is to provide security officers with the understanding, knowledge and capabilities to minimise threat from terrorist attack.”

Created specifically to address the concerns of UK organisations and risks poised by fundamentalist organisations, the programme focuses on training for hostile reconnaissance, the mindset of the ‘new breed’ of terrorist, what motivates a suicide bomber and how they operate. Training is split into three core areas – understanding terrorism, methods of operation and response to terrorism.