Read the report on Labour and Skills Shortages

This report on labour and skills shortages in private security services in the European Union (EU) Member States presents findings from desk research and an EU-wide stakeholder survey undertaken in 2021/2022.

This research analysed publicly available data on current and future labour and skills shortages in the sector. These figures were enriched with data collected through an ad hoc online survey among Social Partners, private security companies and buyers of private security services in the EU Member States.

The main aim of this report is to provide the Sectoral Social Partners, both at EU and national level, with the first EU-wide data in the matter and thereby a better understanding of the situation of labour and skills shortages in the industry, respective drivers of change, and how to better anticipate and manage this trend now and in the future. The report further reflects on the private security services market in the EU Member States and the anticipated shift in demand.

The main research questions addressed in the report are:

What is the current workforce composition in the private security services and state of the market?

What is the current and future extent of labour and skills shortages in the European private security services?

How are these shortages perceived by Social Partners and companies across the EU Member States?

What are the labour and skills challenges of private security companies in practice?

What will be the main trends in market demand and how will they impact skills requirements and needs for re-/upskilling?

What are Social Partners and companies doing to tackle the challenge of labour and skills shortages?

What are the main barriers in this regard and the solutions to better anticipate and manage labour and skills shortages?

As part of the survey, researchers from EuropeAnalytica received responses from 38 private security companies, 23 CoESS members and 18 UNI Europa members in all EU Member States, except Slovenia and Slovakia (see map below).