ISA Executive Protection Training Standards; In the absence of a national quantifiable standard for the training of state and local law enforcement in close protection, or an industry standard for civilian executive protection agents, many states and employers or agencies have simply come up with their own arbitrary standards for the training of executive protection agents. This in turn led to training providers designing their own curriculums and establishing standards based on nothing quantifiable.
The ISA Executive Protection Training Program voluntarily follows the administrative guidelines of the 2020 Edition FLETA Procedures and Standards manual and strictly adheres to the regulatory requirements of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice and North Carolina Private Protective Services Board for the conduct of training courses approved for state credentials and licenses. Click on the image to learn more.
“If you’re going to enter into an industry that provides services to keep someone safe and alive I would point out that being someone who just does enough to meet the minimum standards isn’t going to impress many employers or clients”.
Matthew Parker, ISA CEO
Executive Protection Training Standards, January 31, 2024
With that simple statement above from our CEO, the ISA executive protection training standards were established. We are training students to protect a life, and our graduates will receive a certificate approved by state regulatory agencies for a license or credential that authorizes our graduates to be employed in that line of work.
And because we also follow the guidelines of state and federal law enforcement training our law enforcement students may be “certified” to provide close protection to public officials or receive in-service or professional development credits. Meeting and or exceeding the standards required by these regulatory agencies is not easy, or inexpensive. so why go through the expense? Simple…
A certificate from a training course may not be worth the paper it’s printed on unless your training is accredited and recognized by the security industry or an official regulatory authority. ISA Executive Protection Training programs are fully accredited and recognized by state law enforcement and security regulatory agencies as well as approved for educational credit from institutions of high learning.
Often a discussion will begin on social media by someone asking “what is the best school” or “best course” to attend, and “will it help me get into the industry?” And its a great question. The person asking is doing their due diligence, maybe its some research before entering into the private sector EP field.
ISA Executive Protection Training Standards; What you need to know
In today’s executive protection job market companies are looking for candidates with both a formal education, specific accredited training, and in some locations as we have mentioned a state issued credential or license. This means a new agent needs to focus their time and money on those programs available to attain or earn certifications, credentials, licenses, and permits. ISA training programs are approved for state credentials for personal and close protection agents in North Carolina and Virginia, as well as approved for In-service, continuing education and professional development credits for law enforcement, private investigators and detectives in NC, SC, GA, MD, VA, PA .
Ques: “What is your states requirement to work in executive protection”. Hours of training, topics etc.
Answ: If your state doesn’t have a requirement then attend any course you want. Will that get you into the industry, no, but as there is no minimum state standard, you can take your chances the training will be accepted by an employer.
Ques: “If your state requires a license then they probably require a minimum level of training, do you know what it is?”
Answ: States like North Carolina and Virginia have a detailed training requirement and regulatory agency that monitors the EP industry within the state. Texas and Georgia not so much, its more security guard training with some EP thrown in.
So, you will need to contact the state agency involved and ask what is the requirements and who is authorized to teach it.
After that it’s a matter of cost, schedule and if your smart you will get a few reviews and maybe a reference before you select the course.
The ISA EP training program, while primarily governed by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice 32 E PPS curriculum, also adheres to the North Carolina Private Protective Services Boards mandatory 40 hour executive protection training course requirements for their EP license. Much of the two curriculums are similar. This means many of the topics to be covered in our training course are dictated by these states.
Topics such as state laws and regulations, first aid, advance work, basic formations and emergency drills are requirements for both. Where ISA has exceeded the state requirements is in the methods, and types of training we use and the additional topics and materials we cover. It was determined during the ISD process that threat assessments and risk mitigation, threat intelligence, hostile surveillance, and other topics should be in the curriculum.
But you can’t just add topics to a course without the standards to validate them. In the learning objective for the course, the standard for success is clearly written out. The students will learn, understand, evaluate, discuss or demonstrate, in the field, classroom or by a written paper, an understanding, ability or skill that is required to provide close protection.
Without these standards to grade or evaluate a students ability to do the job of an agent there is no purpose or reason to attend training.
To learn more about the ISA Curriculum please visit https://www.eptraining.us/curriculum/
This course is fully accredited, approved, and periodically renewed for in-service training credit for law enforcement by the following agencies. This is made possible because the training standards of the ISA program meet or exceed those of the regulatory agencies.
Maryland Police & Corrections Training Commission
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice
South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
Georgia POST
Accepted as part of an officer’s permanent record by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Approved for private or corporate security and private investigators by the following agencies:
Approved for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Personal Protective Specialist Program 32 E & 32 I
Approved by the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board for 12 CEUs
Approved by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for Private Security Credit
College Credit
ISA no longer maintains articulation agreements with institutions of higher learning, as in past years. This is due to the almost constant changes that occur with procedures dictated
by the various accrediting entities. However, many colleges and universities continue to recognize ISA course work as transferable into a degree program. Students should contact
the college or university of his / her choice in order to apply for transfer credits.
The ISA Dignitary & Executive Protection Program is endorsed by the International Foundation for Protection Officers
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