Home Services Intelligence Locations About Events Client Portal Request Protection

Security Training & Professional Development

Comprehensive security training programs delivered by combat-proven instructors. From hostile environment awareness to maritime security officer certification, our courses prepare individuals and organisations for Africa's operational realities.

Enquire About Training

Sentinel Africa Group delivers security training of the highest calibre, led by former Special Forces operators and intelligence professionals who bring decades of real-world operational experience to every program. Unlike academic institutions that teach from textbooks, our instructors have conducted operations in the most hostile environments on the African continent and beyond. This lived experience translates into training that is practical, relevant, and directly applicable to the threats our students will face in the field. Every lesson, scenario, and assessment is drawn from real incidents and operational after-action reviews.

Our training programs span the full spectrum of security education, from half-day corporate awareness sessions designed for office-based employees to multi-week specialist certification courses that qualify operators for deployment in high-threat environments. Programs include close protection qualifications, hostile environment awareness training (HEAT), defensive and evasive driving, maritime security officer certification, tactical combat casualty care, and bespoke corporate security awareness packages. Each program is modular and can be tailored to the specific industry, risk profile, and operational context of the client organisation.

Training is delivered from our purpose-built facility located near Johannesburg, featuring urban simulation environments that replicate African operational scenarios, a dedicated driving track for vehicle-based training, and live-fire ranges for firearms qualification and tactical shooting programs. The facility enables realistic scenario-based training that cannot be replicated in a classroom, immersing students in high-pressure situations that test decision-making, teamwork, and technical skills under stress. We also deploy mobile training teams to client locations across Africa, bringing our full training capability to your operational sites.

All Sentinel Africa Group training programs are certified and aligned with recognised national and international standards. Our courses carry PSIRA alignment, SASSETA accreditation, and STCW compliance for maritime programs. We maintain alignment with international frameworks including ASIS International standards and IMO conventions. Our clients include Fortune 500 corporations, multinational mining companies, international NGOs, maritime operators, government agencies, and private individuals seeking to enhance their personal security posture in challenging environments.

Training at a Glance
Years Training 12+
Students Trained 4,500+
Course Types 15+
Countries Delivered 12
Pass Rate 98%
Instructors 20+

Training Programs

Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT)

3-5 day intensive program covering threat recognition, trauma first aid, kidnap survival, checkpoint procedures, and vehicle ambush response. Designed for corporate travellers, journalists, and NGO workers deploying to high-risk environments across Africa.

Defensive & Evasive Driving

Sedan, SUV, and armoured vehicle programs covering ambush response, J-turns, PIT manoeuvres, and convoy operations. 2-3 day courses delivered on our dedicated driving track with professional racing and military driving instructors.

Executive Personal Security Awareness

1-2 day program for executives and UHNW individuals covering situational awareness, travel security planning, digital footprint management, kidnap prevention, and personal threat mitigation strategies.

Maritime Security Officer Training

STCW-aligned program for Ship Security Officers covering anti-piracy operations, counter-boarding techniques, bridge protection protocols, weapons handling, and vessel hardening. 5-10 day certification course.

Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)

Battlefield and trauma medicine for security operators covering tourniquet application, airway management, haemorrhage control, and tactical evacuation procedures. 3-5 day certification with practical trauma simulations.

Corporate Security Awareness Programs

Customised half-day to 2-day programs for organisations covering office security, travel safety protocols, cyber hygiene, active threat response, emergency evacuation procedures, and incident reporting.

Why Choose Sentinel for Training

Combat-Proven Instructors

Every instructor has real operational experience from special forces deployments and intelligence operations, not just classroom theory and textbook knowledge.

Africa-Specific Curriculum

Training designed for the specific threats encountered on the African continent, from carjacking and kidnap scenarios to mining site security and maritime piracy.

Certified & Recognised

PSIRA, SASSETA, and STCW aligned programs. Certificates recognised by employers, insurers, and international security organisations worldwide.

Practical, Not Theoretical

Scenario-based training with realistic simulations and practical assessments in purpose-built environments that replicate real-world operational conditions.

ThreatWatch™ Intelligence Integration

Sentinel's proprietary ThreatWatch intelligence platform directly informs our training curriculum development, ensuring that every course reflects the current threat landscape rather than outdated scenarios. Our intelligence analysts continuously feed real-world incident data, emerging threat patterns, and operational lessons learned into our training design process.

This intelligence-driven approach means that when you attend a HEAT course or corporate awareness session, the scenarios you encounter are based on actual incidents from the past 90 days. Our operations centre identifies emerging threats in real-time, and our curriculum is updated accordingly, ensuring students are prepared for the threats they will actually encounter rather than hypothetical situations from years past.

Current Threat Data

Training scenarios drawn from live intelligence feeds and real-world incident databases across Africa.

Adaptive Curriculum

Course content updated quarterly to reflect evolving threat patterns and emerging security challenges.

Regional Specificity

Location-specific modules tailored to the exact operating environment where students will deploy.

Post-Course Intel Briefs

Graduates receive ongoing threat summaries relevant to their operational area for 90 days post-course.

Case Study

Mining Corporation | HEAT Program
Pan-African Mining Company — 200 Staff Trained Across 4 Countries

Sentinel delivered customised HEAT programs to a major mining corporation with operations in DRC, Tanzania, Ghana, and Mozambique. Over 6 months, 200 employees ranging from geologists to senior executives completed training covering kidnap survival, medical emergencies, hostile checkpoint procedures, and emergency evacuation protocols. Each program was tailored to the specific threat environment of the respective country of operation. Post-training incident response times improved by 60%, and the client reported a measurable increase in staff confidence and willingness to deploy to remote operational sites.

200
Staff Trained
4
Countries
6
Months
60%
Improved Response

Frequently Asked Questions

Our primary training facility is located near Johannesburg and features purpose-built urban simulation environments, a dedicated driving track for defensive and evasive driving courses, and live-fire ranges for firearms qualification and tactical shooting programs. The facility is designed to replicate real-world African operational scenarios. We also deliver on-site training at client locations across Africa, deploying mobile training teams with all required equipment and simulation materials.
Yes. Every training program can be fully tailored to the client's industry, operating environment, and specific risk profile. We develop bespoke curricula based on our intelligence assessment of your operational context. This includes incorporating industry-specific scenarios, adjusting the threat focus to your geographic areas of operation, and aligning course outcomes with your organisation's security policies and procedures. Contact our training team to discuss your requirements.
Certifications vary by program. Participants may receive PSIRA-aligned certificates, SASSETA accredited qualifications, STCW certificates for maritime security courses, and Sentinel Africa Group competency certificates. All certificates include the participant's details, course content summary, and assessment results. Our certifications page provides full details of the accreditations associated with each training program.
Yes. We regularly deliver training programs in Nigeria, Kenya, DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, and other African nations. Our mobile training teams deploy with all required equipment, simulation materials, and instructional resources. We coordinate with local authorities to ensure compliance with host-nation regulations and can arrange appropriate training venues in-country. International training delivery is a core part of our capability and represents a significant portion of our annual training calendar.
Class sizes vary by program to ensure quality instruction and maximum practical time. HEAT courses typically accommodate 8-16 participants to maintain an effective instructor-to-student ratio. Corporate security awareness programs can handle groups of up to 50 participants. Defensive and evasive driving courses are limited to 4-6 students to maximise individual time behind the wheel. For larger groups, we run multiple cohorts on consecutive dates. Contact our training coordinators for group booking arrangements and scheduling.

Invest in Your Team's Safety

Speak with our training division to design a program that prepares your people for the realities of operating in challenging environments.

Enquire About Training