Founded in 1995, Centurion is a privately owned Limited Company based in the UK staffed by former British military personnel, the majority being former Royal Marines.
Centurion’s HEFAT® course has become the template for hostile environment training worldwide, and is now mandatory pre-departure training for most international broadcasters, an increasing number of aid agencies, NGOs and human rights organisations. Centurion also provides training to corporations whose personnel are required to travel or work in potentially hostile environments (e.g. reconstruction workers). Our extensive experience on the ground in conflict zones is fed back into our training for the benefit of others. Our training therefore remains current, practical, understandable and relevant.
In 2004 Centurion was named one of the UK’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies. The company has achieved BS ISO EN 9001 status, an international mark of quality, for its Hostile Environments and Emergency First Aid Training (HEFAT®) courses, and is registered with the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a provider of approved first aid training. The company’s instructors, alongside their military qualifications, have attained National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) as trainers and assessors. As such they are qualified, as civilians, to deliver Centurion’s HEFAT® courses and assess the delegates for the depth of their learning.
Centurion has pioneered a number of innovations in the field of safety training and advice, including producing an Aide-Mémoire that is now the first item many of our delegate pack before leaving on assignment. This 200-page booklet covers subjects we teach in relation to hostile environments and is given free to all delegates at the end of the course.
During the latest military intervention in Iraq, Centurion compiled daily updates from our safety staff in the field for our clients, with advice circulated by email free of charge. These reports were quoted in many quarters including the US Senate and many national US and international newspapers.
Our website includes country files with suggestions for training for each region, equipment to take, and risk profiles for each one.
Centurion’s training personnel travel to run on-site safety training all over the globe, conduct site surveys, and make recommendations for building security, staff security and operational security. We also provide location staff to accompany personnel in the field. Members of our team use their military expertise and experience of civilian operations to secure buildings, develop contingency plans, liaise with local forces, hire guards and many other security-related tasks.
Because of our reputation for quality and high standards in the industry, Centurion was invited to become a founder member and is on the Executive Committee of the British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC), launched in 2006 in the House of Lords, which aims to set benchmark standards for training and security companies operating both within the British Isles and overseas. The company is also a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq (PSCAI), which represents companies operating in that region, and ensures that international standards for human rights and cooperation are maintained.
