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The revised criteria for issuing a Security Personnel Permit (SPP) will take effect on April 1, the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority announced today (March 26). The revised criteria were approved by the Legislative Council on March 17 and published in the Gazette today.
The major amendments are to provide an additional avenue through which SPP applicants can satisfy the criterion of "Proficiency in Security Work", and extend the validity of the existing criterion of provision of employment certificate issued by a prospective employer for six months, that is, until September 30.
Under the revised criteria, an applicant for SPP in Category A, B and/or C will meet the criterion of "Proficiency in Security Work" if he/she has successfully completed a security training course within the year prior to submission of his/her application. The course must have met the requirements of a scheme for quality assurance endorsed by the authority and announced in a manner that it thinks fit.
Individuals can also apply for an SPP on their own. The applicant will have five possible routes to satisfy the criterion of "Proficiency in Security Work" - eventually four after the transitional arrangement in e) lapses. They are:
a) sitting and passing a trade test recognised by the authority within the year prior to submission of his/her application; or
b) having not less than three years of cumulative experience in performing security work lawfully in Hong Kong within the five years prior to submission of his/her application; or
c) having not less than one year of cumulative work experience in performing security work lawfully in Hong Kong within two years prior to submission of his/her application; or
d) having sat and passed the course-end examination of a security training course, which has met the requirements of a scheme for quality assurance that has been endorsed by the authority, within the year prior to submission of his/her application; or
e) producing a letter of employment from the prospective employer.
To enable smooth phasing in of the courses that have met the requirements of a scheme for quality assurance, the validity of the "employment certificate" criterion - item e) - will be extended for six months, to September 30. This will ensure that a sufficient number of such courses are available in the market for SPP applicants to choose from before the "employment certificate" criterion ceases to have effect.
The authority also announced that in respect of the "scheme for quality assurance" under item d), it has endorsed the Quality Assurance System (QAS) for Recognition Scheme of Security Training Courses developed by the Security Services Training Board of the Vocational Training Council (VTC).
The QAS sets out the requirements in respect of programme administration, course content, qualification of trainers, training facilities, assessments and course evaluation, etc. As of Thursday (March 25), there were three security training courses under the recognition scheme that had met the QAS requirements.
For details regarding the QAS, please call the VTC at 2919 1441. For information on recognised courses that have met the QAS requirements, please call the VTC at 2919 1467 or 2919 1469. The list of QAS-recognised courses will be updated from time to time by the VTC. The above information is also available at the VTC's website at www.vtc.edu.hk/cpdc and the Trade Test Registry of the Continuing Professional Development Centre of the VTC (10/F, VTC Tower, 27 Wood Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong).
Copies of the revised criteria for issuing an SPP can be downloaded from the authority's website at www.info.gov.hk/sb/eng/sgsia. They can also be obtained at the office of the authority (Room 408, 4/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central) or the Police Licensing Office (17-18/F, Wanchai Central Building, 89 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai). Enquires may be addressed to the Police Licensing Office's hotline at 2866 0300 or the authority at 2801 6181.
Ends/Friday, March 26, 2004
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