Bodyguard to security guard
A bodyguard already meets 63% of what the security guard role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.1/ 100
1 How much of what a security guard is expected to do is already part of a bodyguard’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the security guard role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A security guard role treats 16 of its required skills as things a bodyguard already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- check official documents
- comply with the principles of self-defence
- deal with aggressive behaviour
- detain offenders
- execute inspection walkway
- identify security threats
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A security guard role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a bodyguard background worth leading with.
- already held interrogate individuals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held execute inspection walkway assisting and caring
- already held perform body searches assisting and caring
- already held monitor surveillance equipment constructing
- already held perform security checks assisting and caring
- already held check methods social sciences, journalism and information
All 26 carried skills, including the 16 the security guard role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn check tickets at venue entry required
- still to learn ensure public safety and security required
- still to learn maintain facility security systems required
- still to learn ensure law application required
- optional, not held carry out security activities with a dog optional
- optional, not held exercise security in hospitals optional
- optional, not held provide security in detention centres optional
- optional, not held conduct airport security screening optional
- optional, not held ensure store security optional
- optional, not held manage lost and found articles optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
- optional, not held ensure security on ships optional
- optional, not held document security incidents in the store optional
- optional, not held ensure hotel security optional
- optional, not held monitor parking areas to maintain security optional
- optional, not held inspect cargo optional
- optional, not held alarm systems optional
- optional, not held security in commercial buildings optional
- optional, not held security in industrial buildings optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held explosives optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a security guard role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 check tickets at venue entry practise this
- 02 ensure public safety and security practise this
- 03 maintain facility security systems practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 26 skills that carry over
- already held check official documents skill
- already held comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- already held deal with aggressive behaviour skill
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held execute inspection walkway skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held identify terrorism threats skill
- already held liaise with security authorities skill
- already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
- already held patrol areas skill
- already held perform body searches skill
- already held perform security checks skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held security threats knowledge
- already held stay alert skill
- already held check methods knowledge
- already held control crowd skill
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held interrogate individuals skill
- already held legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held manage major incidents skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held alarm systems optional
- optional, not held carry out security activities with a dog optional
- optional, not held ensure security on ships optional
- optional, not held exercise security in hospitals optional
- optional, not held provide security in detention centres optional
- optional, not held conduct airport security screening optional
- optional, not held document security incidents in the store optional
- optional, not held ensure hotel security optional
- optional, not held ensure store security optional
- optional, not held explosives optional
- optional, not held manage lost and found articles optional
- optional, not held monitor parking areas to maintain security optional
- optional, not held security in commercial buildings optional
- optional, not held security in industrial buildings optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held inspect cargo optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
20 held skills the security guard role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role European firearms-control legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt to changing situations skill
- not needed by the target role apply advanced driving techniques skill
- not needed by the target role assist emergency services skill
- not needed by the target role assist police investigations skill
- not needed by the target role body language knowledge
- not needed by the target role check subjects skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate patrols skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role first response knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify surveillance devices skill
- not needed by the target role identify suspicious behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role protect important clients skill
- not needed by the target role provide protective escort skill
- not needed by the target role provide secured transportation skill
- not needed by the target role react calmly in stressful situations skill
- not needed by the target role search for explosive devices skill
- not needed by the target role secure premises skill
- not needed by the target role work in shifts skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held alarm systems optional
- optional, not held explosives optional
- optional, not held security in commercial buildings optional
- optional, not held security in industrial buildings optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
Common questions about this move
Can a bodyguard become a security guard?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bodyguard already covers 63% of what a security guard is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 16 of which the security guard role treats as required.
What skills does a bodyguard need to become a security guard?
4 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is check tickets at venue entry.
How hard is the move from bodyguard to security guard?
Its learning distance is 46.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.