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Airport security screeners need more training, better compensation |
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| Peers in U.S. paid based on performance at checkpoints |
| Written by Jennifer Brown, on Tue-March-2008 |
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The vice-president of operations at the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) wants to make the job of an airport security screener more attractive as a profession.
Yves Duguay says that in airports such as Glasgow, Scotland, the
average security screener has been in the job about 15-18 years or
more. And while some screeners at Toronto Pearson airport may have that
kind of experience, it’s not the norm across Canada, especially in
Alberta where screeners have been lured by higher-paying jobs in the
oil patch.
“We’re trying to transform it into more of a profession,” says Duguay,
who wants to see a better recruitment and retention program created for
Canadian airport screeners, something that will become even more
critical as the industry competes for employees against other jobs in
the security and policing sector.
“We need to make it more appealing. If they are paid well, perhaps it
will make a difference too,” he says. Duguay spoke at the Canadian
Aviation Security Conference, held in Ottawa, March 5.
One way to attract and retain talent and to have a better screening
outcome might be to following the lead of the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) in the U.S., which compensates airport security
screeners on performance.
Gale Rossides, deputy administrator of the TSA says the annual pay of
screeners in the U.S. is based on their performance every day on the
line. They are tested and have to meet set standards every year to keep
their jobs and maintain compensation levels. Training of screening
officers also occurs on a weekly basis.
U.S. screening officers are tested during every shift at each of the
450 airports in the country. The TSA conducts 70,000 electronic tests
on its workforce every year and 2,500 covertly placed mock bomb
components are inserted into the screening system for detection by
screeners. Rossides says improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are the
No. 1 threat at airports today. The concern is the parts could be snuck
on board and assembled in the air.
The TSA has increased its level of screening for the detection of items
that could be used in the creation of an explosive device, concerned
that terrorists are attempting to smuggle parts on board that could
later be put together to form an explosive device.
In Canada, screening officers are also tested on a daily basis with items placed secretly by supervisors.
“The screeners are on their toes and don’t have a lot of time to decide
what they’re going to do,” says Marc Gregoire, Assistant deputy
Minister-Safety and Security, Transport Canada.
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