In partnership with Southampton Football Club, Fareham College is delivering an NVQ qualification in Spectator Safety under the national Train to Gain initiative. The course is designed to train young people in stewarding, event management and security guarding, with a nationally recognised qualification. Successful students would be strong contenders to work at the Olympic Games in 2012.

The training programme will be delivered by Fareham College at the St Mary's Training Centre, which will give the students a real experience of working within a high capacity venue, as well as work experience opportunities at Wimbledon, Epsom and Ascot Races.

Many of the students have now been working as stewards at Southampton Football Club on match days, giving them the opportunity to exercise all of their skills in crowd management. Read 'Students prove themselves match fit' article on the Bridging The Gap web site to read about what our students have achieved.

Bridging the Gap (BtG) is an initiative designed to train young people and adults in stewarding and security guarding for major events. Directly inspired by the security requirements for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the project aims to address the ongoing skills shortage in the security industry and enhance employment opportunities through industry-approved qualifications.

Originally developed by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and North Hertfordshire College (NHC), BtG is supported by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the Home Office, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and Skills for Security.

BtG will provide a workforce of 8,000+ trained and qualified personnel drawn from FE colleges across the UK, to help support and deliver a successful and safe Games in 2012. It provides a wealth of opportunities within the £6bn security industry that employs over half a million people and, on average, recruits 60,000 new people every year.

And it's not just about London 2012 – when the Games come to a close, BtG will continue to bring thousands of recruits into the industry. Across the next 10 years, the spotlight will well and truly be on the UK event industry, as we play host to some of the world's biggest and finest sporting, music and leisure events.