ITA Group launches new commercial counter-terror training academy

<<Start>>

ITA, the UK-based security group is launching the International Training Academy, designed to provide a range of specialist training to help organisations manage the threats from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), dirty bombs, chemical weapons and biological attacks (CBRN).

“The recent chlorine weapon attacks in Iraq highlight the sort of problem that now faces us. There is a general assumption that the police and the emergency services are totally geared up to deal with this type of attack but it is not always the case that they have the resources to be able to do so” says Mark Ayres, ITA’s CEO. “Instructors from the International Training Academy work with commercial and public sector organisations globally to teach them how to reduce their vulnerability to terrorist attacks and to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) in case the worst happens.”

The Academy’s instructors each draw their knowledge from over 20 years serving in the British Military as Search and Bomb Disposal specialists and the Academy’s courses have been designed specifically to enable civilian personnel to be able to gain specialist knowledge in an environment which encourages the development of practical skills as well as theoretical learning.

Mark Ayres says, “One of the Academy’s more graphic one-day courses is its Recognition of Firearms and Explosives course (RFX). We take the students onto the military firing range and demonstrate under controlled conditions the blast effect of a variety of explosive compositions and show just how easy they are to conceal. This is an essential course for anyone that performs an operational security role, from x-ray screeners to security directors”.

The Academy will also be launching a series of one-day courses specifically designed to help commercial and public sector personnel recognise the threats from IEDs, and chemical / biological attacks delivered with ITA Group company, the CBRN Team. More information can be found at the ITA website www.ita.gb.com.

<<End>>

Notes to Editors: ITA Group was launched in 2005 initially as ITA Overseas Escorts Ltd, which manages a Home Office contract to remove and deport failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from the UK. Originally based in Bagshot, Surrey, ITA Group has successfully managed its rapid growth period and has recently moved within the military garrison in Aldershot, Hampshire to a larger headquarters building. ITA Group runs a 24-hour operations room supporting some 70 escorting personnel, repatriating people to almost every country on the planet. ITA Overseas Escorts also provides ‘carrier liability’ services to a number of major airlines including Air France, Swiss International, Lufthansa, EasyJet and Ryan Air.

ITA Group also owns ITA Global Services Ltd, under which sit the International Training Academy and ITA’s R&D division, which designs and manufactures vehicle countermeasures systems. These systems are attachable to any vehicle and can be remotely operated to deploy smoke, audio stun devices and CS gas in the event of attack. This system is currently being evaluated by a number of corporate organisations and government services for VIP protection.

ITA’s success means that it is able to be acquisitive where such acquisitions add value to the Group’s security portfolio and has recently invested in Wiltshire-based The CBRN Team Ltd. The CBRN Team delivers training, consultancy and equipment services in the domain of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear warfare.

The Group owns two property development companies, one UK focussed and the other with an international property portfolio.

The Group is also looking at a number of other corporate acquisitions and it is currently negotiating the purchase of a 66-acre MoD site in order to establish a bespoke counter-terrorism training facility for use by the Academy, the CBRN Team and by other organisations for their own specialist training purposes.

Contact details: Dave Hitchins – Marketing Director ITA Group. Tel: +44 7920 489601 Email: davidh@ita.gb.com. Photos are available of the ITA Group headquarters and of the firing ranges.