Before security guards become who they are today, they have to undergo training and courses to become licensed. This is essential for them to be able to be efficient in their work thus promoting a safe working place in most establishments. as of the moment, there are a lot of agencies or companies offering training and courses to be a fully-pledged security guard and SIA or the Security Industry Authority if one of them. Having a SIA licence is one of the most coveted all around United Kingdom.
Hence, the Security Industry Authority is known all over United Kingdom because of its continuous service in the security industry. They mainly have 2 functions as an organisation. One is that they have this Approved Contractor Scheme wherein they voluntarily inspect establishments and their security system and help raise their standards and upgrade the security team’s skills and knowledge in order to serve better.
Another function of the group is to help and give a mandatory training to those who wish to become a full-pledged security guard. Having a SIA licence is such a big boost in order to work in the different fields like retail security, bank security, armed security guards and others.
When bumping in to their website, it offers a comprehensive layout and offers links in order for the visitor to know what are the courses offered and how to easily get a SIA licence. The course is at £100 to about £150 which is inclusive of the classroom-setting learning and then the examination. After passing the exam, the application normally lasts from a week to a month and the SIA licence is only valid for 3 years. This allows the licensed security guard to work at any field whether it is at the bank, retail stores, and others for 3 years.
The SIA site also informs the people on the different duties and responsibilities of a security guard. It can differ depending on the field they choose to work. For instance, the role of a retail security guard is not the same as compared to a private security guard. But all these will be learned once they en-roll in the course that the site offers.
But being a security guard can also be a tough job. Aside from doing surveillance and checking the surroundings to ensure safety, they also need to know physical interventions. Thus it is also required to have a physical intervention course before getting the SIA licence. In this course, they will be able to know interventions like holding, disengagement, additional holding and specialist. These are essential to know how to handle each situation and address the problem accordingly.
Lastly, security guard hopefuls even with a record from the authorities can even get the SIA licence. Having a criminal record still allow people to have the licence and become security guards. They just have to adhere to the terms and conditions stipulated at the site. And if they are not accepted for the first time, they can always re-apply to bring out the positive aspects of those who have been law-offenders at one point in their lives.
Check out this door supervisor mock test to get an idea of what questions will be asked if you go for your exam.