LONDON -- The International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) has teamed up with global learning and development specialists Ethos Farm to create a ground-breaking avatar-led online program for security personnel called ‘Being Human.'

“We are hugely excited to launch the Being Human training program today, a joint initiative designed and developed with Ethos Farm, and what better moment to release the news than at the Security Minds Matter webinar, " said Mike Hurst CPP MSyI, Director of IFPO UK & Ireland. "At the very heart of IFPO is a desire to support security personnel by offering leading educational products and we were very excited to discover Ethos Farm’s unique approaches to immersive learning for a next generation experience.”

Ethos Farm was named the Learning & Performance Institute’s Learning Start-up of the Year at the 2020 Learning Awards and has gained recognition for engaging training techniques with clients such as Edinburgh Airport and Heathrow Express.

“Working with IFPO on this joint initiative has enabled us to take their unparalleled security industry expertise and combine with training topics we have developed around human behaviours and empathetic service," Ethos Farm’s co-founder of Learning & Development Josie Barton said. “This has enabled us to collaboratively build a training product that delves deep into the reasons behind unusual behaviors and how to handle such situations as a security first responder. Our goal is to build appreciation of the spectrum of mental and physical conditions so that security personnel have the tools to assess the situation with emotional intelligence.”

Being Human is an avatar-led e-Learning program available to purchase on a learner-by-learner basis and is also available as a virtual classroom session.

The training explores:
- The many factors that influence how someone behaves
- The challenges that someone with a mental or physical condition may
experience
- How to respond empathetically to situations involving unusual behavior
- The importance of Being Human in all dealings with other people

“We are acutely conscious that security professionals are expected to be the first responders in sometimes challenging and difficult circumstances, whilst acting with
calculated precision," Chris Middleton Dip ML MSyl, Security and Client Services Director at ABM UK and Board Member of IFPO UK & Ireland said. "However, natural human engagement and empathy are often the very best ways to assess and diffuse situations and so we are delighted to be able to offer this enhanced training program to the industry”

Sally Alington, CEO of Ethos Farm commented:

“As a business that is passionate about elevated employee and customer experiences, we know that frontline workforces are seen as ambassadors for the brands they
represent. Security personnel therefore, are often the first or last impression of any brand. We expect security employees to welcome guests, answer customer enquiries and yet handle extreme situations that can be very complex to judge. It is imperative that we support these individuals when dealing with challenging behaviors and we are very proud to be working hand in hand with IFPO to offer these important learning programs to security professionals.”

The e-Learning course is available to purchase by visiting https://ifpo.uk/product/being-human-e-learning-module/ or by contacting hello@ethosfarm.com with discounted pricing available for IFPO members.