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Mark Harding Elected Chair of UKCMA and Sets Out Priorities
The UK managing director of Showsec, Mark Harding (pictured), was elected chair of the UK Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) at its AGM this spring. Following the appointment, Harding has drawn up a series of priorities that he believes the crowd management industry needs to address.
“I am looking forward to taking the UKCMA to its next phase,” he says. “A key part of my role will be to encourage all reputable crowd management companies to join the UKCMA and adopt its best practices. By doing so they will be signing up to a professional standard recognised by and beyond the event industry. It is important for key member companies such as Safestyle, Special Events, Show and Event Security and Rocksteady to continue to set the standards in a unified approach.”
Since its formation in March 2001, the association has brought together a core of event industry practitioners to encourage improved standards in crowd management and has won the recognition of government bodies including The British Standards Institute (BSi) and the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Some members acted as a consultative body to Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (BCUC) in drawing up its Crowd Management Degree. The UKCMA completed its first accredited qualification, The Front of Stage Pit Course, via BCUC in 2006, and the association hopes this will be the first of many.
High up on the UKCMA agenda is the need to explore how the large number of new festivals in the UK is seeing higher levels of unqualified labour drafted into the sector. Formal moves to improve supervision and leadership standards are also in the pipeline.
“We need to co-operate with other event associations and develop the industry’s performance,” he says. “With the Olympic Games approaching in 2012 we must ensure that the UK’s crowd management sector is the best in the world over the coming years. I have already met with other associations including the National Outdoor Events Association to improve co-operation between ourselves and the Security Industry Authority (SIA). I also fully endorse the initiative by UKCMA member Chris Woodford of Firewalker Events Security in which member companies will be required to comply with an industry-recognised assessment of working practices, training and recruitment.”
4th July 2007
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