Security alarm investigator to security guard
A security alarm investigator already meets 27% of what the security guard role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
75.1/ 100
1 How much of what a security guard is expected to do is already part of a security alarm investigator’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 6 of its required skills as things a security alarm investigator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- deal with aggressive behaviour
- detain offenders
- ensure public safety and security
- liaise with security authorities
- monitor surveillance equipment
- security threats
What stands in the way is 14 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 13 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 security alarm investigator background worth leading with.
- already held security in industrial buildings services
- already held security in commercial buildings services
- already held monitor surveillance equipment constructing
- already held deal with aggressive behaviour assisting and caring
- already held detain offenders assisting and caring
- already held security threats services
All 13 carried skills, including the 6 the security guard role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 38 missing skills fall into 7 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 execute inspection walkway required
- still to learn maintain facility security systems required
- still to learn check official documents required
- still to learn comply with the principles of self-defence required
- still to learn ensure law application required
- still to learn identify security threats required
- still to learn patrol areas required
- still to learn perform body searches required
- still to learn perform security checks required
- still to learn practice vigilance 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 handle surveillance equipment optional
- optional, not held manage major incidents optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
- still to learn identify terrorism threats required
- 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
- still to learn stay alert required
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held legal requirements related to ammunition optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held alarm systems optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held explosives optional
1 further area in the appendix
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 execute inspection walkway 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 13 skills that carry over
- already held deal with aggressive behaviour skill
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held liaise with security authorities skill
- already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
- already held security threats knowledge
- already held criminal law knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held security in commercial buildings knowledge
- already held security in industrial buildings knowledge
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held check methods optional
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 monitor parking areas to maintain security optional
- optional, not held check methods optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held inspect cargo optional
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held manage major incidents optional
- optional, not held provide door security optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held regulate traffic optional
13 held skills the security guard role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on strengthening security skill
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply safety management skill
- not needed by the target role assist police investigations skill
- not needed by the target role building's electronic access equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role locking mechanisms knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage alarm system skill
- not needed by the target role read technical datasheet skill
- not needed by the target role repair alarm system skill
- not needed by the target role respond to burglar alarm systems skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
6 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 check methods optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
Common questions about this move
Can a security alarm investigator become a security guard?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A security alarm investigator already covers 27% of what a security guard is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 6 of which the security guard role treats as required.
What skills does a security alarm investigator need to become a security guard?
14 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 7 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 security alarm investigator to security guard?
Its learning distance is 75.1 out of 100, which is the career change 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.