Gate guard to security guard
A gate guard already meets 57% of what the security guard role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.2/ 100
1 How much of what a security guard is expected to do is already part of a gate guard’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 15 of its required skills as things a gate guard already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- check official documents
- check tickets at venue entry
- comply with the principles of self-defence
- deal with aggressive behaviour
- detain offenders
- ensure public safety and security
What stands in the way is 5 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 22 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 gate guard background worth leading with.
- already held monitor parking areas to maintain security information skills
- already held perform body searches assisting and caring
- already held monitor surveillance equipment constructing
- already held maintain facility security systems assisting and caring
- already held perform security checks assisting and caring
- already held check methods social sciences, journalism and information
All 22 carried skills, including the 15 the security guard role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 6 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 execute inspection walkway required
- still to learn ensure law application required
- still to learn patrol areas required
- still to learn restrain individuals 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 control crowd optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
- still to learn stay alert required
- optional, not held interrogate individuals 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 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 legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held explosives optional
- optional, not held surveillance methods 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 execute inspection walkway practise this
- 02 ensure law application practise this
- 03 patrol areas 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held check official documents skill
- already held check tickets at venue entry 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 ensure public safety and security skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held identify terrorism threats skill
- already held liaise with security authorities skill
- already held maintain facility security systems skill
- already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
- already held perform body searches skill
- already held perform security checks skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held security threats knowledge
- already held check methods knowledge
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held illegal substances knowledge
- already held manage major incidents skill
- already held monitor parking areas to maintain security skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held provide first aid skill
24 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 legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held manage lost and found articles optional
- optional, not held security in commercial buildings optional
- optional, not held security in industrial buildings optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held inspect cargo optional
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
- optional, not held surveillance methods optional
10 held skills the security guard role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role conduct security screenings skill
- not needed by the target role maintain incident reporting records skill
- not needed by the target role manage theft prevention skill
- not needed by the target role monitor guest access skill
- not needed by the target role operate control panels skill
- not needed by the target role provide directions to guests skill
- not needed by the target role react calmly in stressful situations skill
- not needed by the target role register information on arrivals and departures skill
- not needed by the target role work in shifts skill
9 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 legal requirements related to ammunition 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 legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held surveillance methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a gate guard become a security guard?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A gate guard already covers 57% of what a security guard is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 15 of which the security guard role treats as required.
What skills does a gate guard need to become a security guard?
5 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is execute inspection walkway.
How hard is the move from gate guard to security guard?
Its learning distance is 51.2 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.