Blackbird Academy

The Advanced Communication Mastery: Essential Skills and Verbal Judo - is designed to equip participants with advanced communication strategies for managing interpersonal conflicts and enhancing verbal effectiveness. It focuses on the concept of “Verbal Judo,” a method that emphasizes the use of language to defuse difficult situations, maintain control, and influence others positively without aggression.

The course covers key skills such as active listening, assertiveness, and emotional intelligence, aiming to improve participants’ ability to navigate high-stress conversations in both personal and professional environments. Through structured modules, practical scenarios, and continuous feedback, participants learn how to handle challenging interactions with tact, empathy, and persuasion.

The Fire Safety course focuses on equipping participants with essential knowledge to prevent, manage, and respond to fire emergencies in the workplace. By the end of the training, participants will understand how to recognize common fire hazards, follow legislated safety responsibilities, and implement prevention measures.

The course covers fire protection systems, including alarms and extinguishers, the legal obligations of employees and employers, and the importance of fire safety plans. Participants are also trained in emergency evacuation procedures and the operation of fire suppression systems. The overall goal is to foster preparedness, minimize risks, and protect lives and property from fire hazards.

The Workplace Harassment aims to educate employees about recognizing, preventing, and addressing various forms of harassment, including sexual, gender, racial harassment, and discrimination. The course defines workplace harassment as objectionable conduct intended to intimidate or offend and emphasizes the importance of creating a safe, equitable, and productive work environment.

Participants will learn about different types of harassment, how to recognize and respond to them, and how to report incidents. The course also outlines the collective responsibility of employers and employees, alongside the legal framework protecting individuals from harassment. The training reinforces the importance of fostering respect and compliance with policies to prevent workplace harassment.

The Reporting Excellence is specifically designed for the security industry, focusing on the essential skills required to produce accurate and comprehensive incident reports. This interactive course engages participants by placing them in realistic scenarios, allowing them to practice gathering and reporting crucial information.

Through live exercises, participants will identify common reporting errors and learn how to avoid them. The course emphasizes the importance of documenting all relevant facts to establish intent and support investigations or legal proceedings. Participants will develop the ability to create detailed, fact-based reports that meet organizational standards.

The (DEI) Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workplace training aims to educate participants on the fundamental principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their significance in creating a high-performing, innovative, and respectful work environment.

The course covers key concepts such as recognizing various forms of discrimination (including racism, microaggressions, and systemic bias), understanding privilege, and fostering allyship. Participants will engage in practical strategies and exercises to build an inclusive culture, where all individuals, regardless of their background, feel valued and heard.

The training emphasizes DEI as a continuous, strategic advantage that enhances employee satisfaction, promotes retention, and strengthens organizational performance. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to actively promote DEI in their workplace, contribute to a positive environment, and address discriminatory behaviors effectively.

While we believe that the hands-off model and verbal de-escalation are the ideal approaches to preventing incidents for most businesses, there are some occasions where it's important for our security team to be able to safely make hands-on arrests to keep staff and customers safe. This program equips our security professionals with advanced skills and the tactical know-how needed to handle challenging situations with confidence and precision.

Blackbird Security has a direct collaboration with GCT Tactical, incorporating certified instructors from this organization. This close partnership enables Blackbird to host in-house Use of Force (UOF) training and tailor the training to the specific needs of our clients.

Traditional use-of-force training typically covers defensive and takedown techniques. However, Blackbird utilizes GCT's curriculum, enhancing our 8-hour training program to include proper Take-Down Techniques, Subject Control Tactics, Federal and Provincial Legislations, as well as Ground Defense Techniques. Successful completion of the program results in a Use of Force Competency Certification Card, encompassing both handcuffing and the expandable baton component.

Our members from various sectors, including retail, undergo training with real-case scenarios, allowing our team to evaluate participants' responses carefully before their deployment to any client site. Therefore, this course not only certifies members in the use of force, handcuffing, and baton, but also provides the operations team with a clear understanding of the settings in which a member can be deployed.

The vast majority of a security guard’s interactions will be with law abiding members of the general public. Therefore, it’s crucial that guards are trained to effectively listen, communicate and problem solve.

When a member of the public approaches a security guard, they may be upset, talking quickly and in need of urgent assistance. Our customer service training module equips our guards to excel in these scenarios, providing frontline assistance in a calm and reassuring manner. 

Blackbird Security trainers have worked with the Justice Institute of British Columbia to create our own internal Peaceful De-escalation Training program. Our program is designed to train our staff on how to both manage one’s own emotional feelings during conflicts and how to respond to feelings of anger and conflict in others. It is based on the development of respectful, thoughtful and measured interactions between individuals and groups.

Our Peaceful De-escalation training is provided in collaboration with the Crisis Prevention Institute.

We strongly believe that accurate report writing is a pillar of what makes a good security guard. In this module, we train our guards in the basics of accurate written reports, use of non-biased or judgemental language, and how to write reports in a clear and concise manner. We also equip our guards with the expertise needed to utilize our powerful TrackTik app for incident reporting.

Knowledge of legal frameworks is essential in providing security services successfully. Through this course, our guards gain a basic understanding of Canadian Criminal Law, learn the differences between between Federal and Provincial Acts, understand key provisions of the Trespass to Property Act, identify offences in the Canadian Criminal Code with a focus on the retail industry, understand the legal perspective on Use of Force, and learn basic security terminology.

Blackbird Security has active members certified as First Aid instructors by the Lifeguarding
Academy who passed the course provided directly from the Lifesaving Society. The Lifesaving Society's First Aid Instructor (FAI) certification is recognized by WSIB, empowering candidates to instruct all levels of First Aid and CPR courses offered by the Lifesaving Society. This collaboration allows Blackbird Security to conduct in-house First Aid training, utilizing up-to-date materials from a reputable organization.