markpaulk

Since I recruit for both security guards (retail, construction sites, events etc) and security officers (corporate offices, hospitals, high profile events etc), what has been your biggest challenge to date working in the security industry? What training, how long does it take and how much does it cost? Are the costs subsidised in anyway eg: the state or by prospective employers?

The reasons I ask is that I recruit across UK & Ireland and am interested in the structure of the industry in your neck of the woods. Thanks :)

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to fill me in. Really useful information to know. Definitely agree about the whole pay thing in security. They want the hulk but will pay low wages, often on 0 hour contracts here in the UK but still expect loyalty?!

Interesting about the licensing. Some training providers are government subsidized here so they pay for either training or the badge or both depending on their revenue stream and amount of subsidization. So over here you can either get Door Supervision, CCTV, Transit (Cash/Valuables), Vehicle Immobilising, Close Protection and Key Holding. Most people just get Door Supervision over here. The others are niche and rarely needed/requested/wanted but still available.

G4S? Lol. They're a joke. We won a major contract from right under their noses recently, worth £2million a month, all thanks to 1 brilliant bid writer in our firm. They were an absolute joke during the Olympics in London back in 2012. Seems they're just the same across the pond!

Have you thought about what's next for yourself, like moving into back office, vetting etc?