THE former head of security at The Bank of England has joined one of the UK's top security training companies based in Droitwich.

New non-executive director at Train 4 Security Bill Wyllie is also the Chairman and a Fellow of The Security Institute.

His role will include advising the board on the needs of the security profession, helping Train 4 Security to focus its training courses to meet those needs and assisting them in developing new markets for that training.

Bill, who began his career as a military intelligence officer, has also worked in security-related positions in the Middle East's oil industry as well as a consultant across a wide range of security sectors.

"The need for higher standards of training for security staff is at last being matched by an employer-led demand for those higher standards," he said.

"Regulation of the industry has played some part in increasing recognition of this fact, but is not the only factor. Far more important have been the increasing demands on security teams and the higher levels of performance expected of them.

"Train 4 Security has recognised the current training need and is bringing fresh ideas to meet it. It is very much a 'can do' company with a real belief in identifying what the client both wants and needs," Mr Wyllie said.

Phil Ruggiero, chief executive of Train 4 Security, added: "The appointment of Bill will strengthen our position in the security training industry. His expertise will help us in identifying and meeting increasing demands for higher standards in security training."

Bill Wyllie has acted as an external examiner for MA and MSc security degrees, and has acted as an advisor to several academic institutions. He is the author of two books The Millennium Security Manager and A Guide to Security Surveys.