How to Become a Security Guard in UK

To Become and Work as a Security Professionals - Security guard, static guard, door supervisor, retail security, airport security, bodyguard or any other security officer you need a SIA licence.

The Security Industry Authority SIA is the body of the UK government which is responsible for the licensing and regulation of security related jobs. The law was introduced in 2005 and it meant that all public and private companies can only give a security job to someone who has the SIA licence or NVQ level 2 qualification in security field.

The easiest and quickest licence to get is the basic SIA certificate that allows you to work as a security guard and it lasts for 3 years and can the course can be done very quickly, from 2-4 days. The SIA does not run training courses or give qualifications or provide funding. You can get the SIA certificate from either privately run training companies or from local colleges. A college is the best and the cheapest option to get the certificate as the private trainers can charge up to £250 and a college will cost around £45 for the registration fee. If you intend to get SIA licence then the best thing  to do is  look around to get info from local colleges

1. To apply for an SIA license you have to be 18 years and above and should not have had any criminal convictions in the past year.

2. The door supervisor course enables you to work as a security guard and there are two units to the course, unit 1 is roles and responsibilities of door supervisors and unit 2 is conflict management. The course consists of classroom based learning with many of practical examples and videos etc.

3. Exam consists of multiple choice questions and is easy if you have attended the training course as the questions are very basic.
 
4. Anyone who is eligible to work in the UK can apply for this license.

5. Pay rate varies depending on the job but usually ranges from £8.00 as working for a security company to £15.00 hour when working in-house.

6. There are a lot of security jobs available all over UK even in the present environment and you can apply for security jobs either through the training company or you can look for jobs on the internet, a lot of security companies are still recruiting security personnel.

7. Upon successful completion of the training course, that is after you have received your results you may apply for the SIA badge, all you have to do is order an sia application pack from the sia website, fill it out and send it off to sia .

8. The licence application fee is £245 for a three year licence. The fee is to cover the cost of processing your application and is not refundable.
If you pay your own licence fee you will be able to claim tax relief against your taxable income. For example, if you pay the basic rate of tax the relief is worth £53.90. If you are an employer paying the licence fee on behalf of an employee there will be no tax or National Insurance liability.
Some security operatives may need more than one licence; in such cases the second licence will be discounted by 50%.

Job Outlook
Strong growth is projected for jobs in the security sector. Security guards are now seen as mandatory in many situations where security was once optional. Office buildings, hospitals and public gatherings of all sizes are likely to have security personnel present. It is much cheaper to hire a security firm than off-duty police officers for a one-time occurrence.