If you’re a young person who has to make a career choice, the security guard profession is often a good option to consider. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the important things you should know about the profession to enable you to make an informed choice.
Understanding Your Role if You Become a Security Guard
Before we discuss how to become a security guard in Australia, let’s make sure that you understand that security guards have many roles to play. These roles include aspects such as the following:
- The securing of properties and people.
- The controlling of access points to properties and buildings by authorizing or declining the entrance of vehicles and people.
- Responding to alarms and reacting promptly.
- Assisting people in need.
- Submitting reports of your daily surveillance activities to senior guards.
Security guards can work individually or in teams and sometimes they also use guard dogs.
Education and Training Requirements Needed to Become a Security Officer in Australia
A Certificate II in Security Operations is mandatory and a legal requirement for anyone who wants to be licenced as a security guard in Australia. For this certificate, you have to complete a training course regarding the base-level roles of security guards. This is an essential part of how to become a security guard.
Developing Key Skills for Security Guard Profession
Apart from the basic training for the mandatory certificate, security guards keep on developing various skills during their employment. Interpersonal skills development, for instance, is a very important factor in security guards’ skills development programmes.
When you are a security guard you are not only in a security profession, but also in a social profession. You have to interact with people with different personalities and backgrounds. Thus, if you enjoy working with people, this is definitely a profession to consider.
How to Become a Security Guard
If you want to become a security guard in Australia the basic steps you have to take are, generally speaking, the following:
- Complete your Senior Secondary Certificate of Education and obtain basic first aid training.
- Enrol for security guard training at a registered training provider and complete the relevant courses. You have to at least get the Certificate II in Security Operations because this certificate is mandatory when you apply for the entry-level security guard licence.
- Once you have your licence you can apply for security guard jobs.
Various Career Opportunities for Security Guards
After you’ve gained experience in the security guard industry you can decide to specialise in a specific field, such as
- an Australian protective service officer,
- a bodyguard,
- a crowd controller,
- an air security officer, or
- a mobile patrol guard.
Conclusion
To be a security guard is an excellent opportunity to protect the safety of people. If you want to serve the nation, get your basic training and license and apply for a security guard job at a reliable security company such as UVS Group Security.
