If you have been living under a rock for a few weeks, you won’t know about the huge security queues at our largest airport – Heathrow. It seems that the UK Border Agency are having trouble managing to get people through the passport security checks and in some cases people are waiting for longer than three hours. If you are a UK passport holder you can expect to get through much quicker, but tourists and people here on business are getting a pretty bad impression when they arrive in the country.

So what will be the best way to tackle this issue? Employ more security staff who are security trained to deal with these queues. If you do a security guard training course, you won’t be able to simply walk into a job at Heathrow working in the passport checking queue. But you will certainly put yourself in a good position to get your foot in the door. The security personnel at airports have to undergo special training to recognise fake passports and to know when people are lying to them. But your security training can also teach you how to read people.

For example, door supervisor training will show you how to approach people who are nervous or under the influence. You will learn how to control a crowd, keep people informed and the importance of being a good listener and communicator. These skills have to be useful when dealing with disgruntled passengers who have just walked off a long haul flight. Security guard training will also offer you the right skills to understand the importance of procedure and the checking of documents.

CCTV training is also a great lead-in to a security job at an airport. You will learn how to read faces and body language to identify anyone who is nervous or just looks like they have something to hide. Using intuition is not something which can be learned, but knowing when to act on it is part of the CCTV training and could be very useful in airport security.

It seems that the UK Border Agency are trying to do a very difficult job with not enough staff members, so it is likely that jobs in this area might start popping up. get yourself ready now by undergoing some security training courses. get your SIA licence and visit the Heathrow website to see if there are any opportunities going which could suit you.

When you embark on your journey towards becoming and working as a security guard, door supervisor or a CCTV operator, you will become an expert on the Security Industry Authority. When it comes to the security sector, the SIA are where the buck stops. While your main area of interaction with the SIA will be getting and keeping your SIA licence, you might be interested to know all of the functions which the SIA perform – some of them might even surprise you.

• The SIA issue you with your security licence. This licence is compulsory and cannot be issued unless you have undertaken the mandatory SIA training which meets their criteria. They make sure that people who get security licences are fit and proper individuals who are correctly qualified.
• They run the Approved Contractor Scheme. They have a list of standards which private security services need to adhere to in order to be approved as a supplier of security personnel. Anyone wanting to hire a security guard can be sure that they are of a certain quality if they are part of the Approved Contractor Scheme.

As part of these two main roles the SIA will also seek to enforce their licensing requirements. This means that they will do spot checks of licences and venues as well as checking on the approved contractors. If anyone has broken the rules they can expect, in the first instance, to be helped to improve their standards and meet requirements. However if this fails, fines can be imposed and even prosecution leading the seizure of assets or worse.

As well as all this, the SIA have a great website where you can learn about all of the security training requirements expected of you and even where you can go to get the security training which the SIA approve of.

The SIA is currently a government body and is responsible to the Home Office, but this might be changing. A consultation is going out this year to see if a regulatory body outside of government might be the best approach. This won’t necessarily affect you. The SIA will still use the same name and the same sorts of functions will be undertaken by the SIA. It will just be more independent and some of the licensing criteria might be different. You might also have a different fee for your license (but it is suggested this might be lower!)

So, everything you need to know about the SIA. Once you have your security training under your belt, they will look after your security licence and make sure your employer is sticking to the rules. This makes them very useful to you – provided you stick to the rules as well.

Getting a job after completing your SIA licence training is actually much easier than you might think, even these days when jobs are scarce. The reason is that the security sector is still booming – let’s face it, security issues are not going to go away. Add to this the fact that the Olympics are coming up and it is the Jubilee year and any security guard is likely to be in high demand.

Obviously the first step towards getting a job in security is to get the correct type of security training for the job you want to do. If you want to work as a bouncer you will need to do door supervisor training. If it is general security work you are after, then security guard training might be best and for those people who like the idea of CCTV surveillance, CCTV training courses are available. You can’t work in the industry until you get an SIA licence and you can’t get that until you have the right security training.

So once you have your licence in place, you are ready to start looking for a job. Many security training companies will offer advice on finding a job and they may have links with recruitment companies which specialise in this area. However, if you are on your own, follow these ideas to get you started:

• Sign up with a recruitment agency which has security jobs on their books. Most of the larger ones like Reed and Manpower have security jobs available. Reading through these postings is also likely to give you an idea of what is available and how much you can expect to earn.
• Look up the private security companies in your area. There are bound to be at least one or two. Give them a call and tell them about your security training. They will appreciate having access to someone who already has an SIA licence. Especially if they need someone in a hurry.
• Look on the websites of the larger security companies which have branches all over the country. Securitas is a good one. They often have recruitment sections on their websites with available jobs. They will expect you to be security trained, but may offer additional training as well.
• Lastly, contact or even visit all your local bars, pubs and clubs and offer your services. Prepare a CV and drop it off. Don’t forget that football clubs, sports arenas and even shopping malls all have security officers as well. So the  possibilities are endless.

Finding a job as a security officer is easier if you have the right security training for the job you want to do. So if this is something you need to do, don’t forget to book yourself in for a door supervisor training course or one of the other many possibilities.

It seems that something good came out of last summer’s riots – an appreciation of the effectiveness of CCTV systems. A survey carried out by D-Link has shown that 86% of people questioned felt that the fact that so many rioters were identified by CCTV images means that more people will be accepting of surveillance in general.

We already know that the UK is one of the most watched countries in the world. We have more CCTV cameras than just about anywhere else on earth, but in the past the public has always questioned the need for this constant “Big brother” style recording of our every move. Well, it seems that the tide is changing and that people would even consider having systems installed in and around their own homes to watch their neighbours and even their pets.

This news is great for the security industry and could leave a huge gap in the numbers of people with the correct security training to become part of the CCTV boom. If you have ever considered doing CCTV training, now is probably the perfect time to make that commitment. All the technology in the world is useless if the right people are not available to do the watching and to make the required human decisions.

While computer programs are being written to help in the process of identifying problems and situations using CCTV cameras, the required technology is a long way off. In addition it seems that the human touch is required. CCTV training will teach you how to identify situations, to know if a fight is just a few lads mucking around or if something serious is about to kick off. Computers don’t have that human intuition which CCTV training will give you.

Even if you have already done door supervisor training or security guard training, it is not too late to add another string to your bow. Enrolling in a CCTV training will put you in a position where there are more jobs available to you and you will be able to use the skills you have already learned. Get in at the start of the boom and see where a career as a CCTV operative will lead you.

The security industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK at the moment – and that is saying something given the state of the economy. It is one area where there are plenty of jobs available for the right people. Of course when it comes to security jobs, you will be aware that having the right security training is essential. You can’t work in the industry without an SIA licence and you can’t get a license unless you have done the security training.

There are a number of different jobs in the industry and each will require different security training courses. In some cases certain courses will cover you for a few different job options. This is the case with the security guard training and the door supervisor training. If you decide to do a door supervisor training course, you will also be allowed to work as a security guard. However if you complete the security guard training, it will not cover you for door supervisor work. It is clear to see that, for most people the door supervisor training course is much better value and will give you many more opportunities.

Another worthwhile training course is CCTV training. With millions being spent every year on installing more and more CCTV cameras around the country, the number of licensed operators needs to increase fast. CCTV training will give you a specialist skill which will allow you to work alongside the police in identifying crime and reporting it. You may also be required to give evidence in serious cases. If you are great at picking up detail, then a CCTV operators job might be perfect for you.

Of course once you have one of these qualifications, there are plenty of side training courses which are worthwhile doing. These might include first aid, health and safety, security supervisory level courses and physical intervention courses. Even if you are already working in the security industry, some of these courses might help you to move up the ladder at work.

Whether your dream is to work on the door at a local club or to protect spectators at the football, being a security operative is a challenging role and one which more and more people are turning to. Getting ahead of the game and getting the correct security training is going make you stand out above the rest. Get into one of the fastest growing industries by booking a security training course now.