Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Security guard supervisor to security alarm investigator

A security guard supervisor already meets 46% of what the security alarm investigator role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From security guard supervisor
46 % overlap
Partial match
To security alarm investigator
12 You already bring
7 Still to learn
26 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

51.5/ 100

1 How much of what a security alarm investigator is expected to do is already part of a security guard supervisor’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 alarm investigator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A security alarm investigator role treats 6 of its required skills as things a security guard supervisor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • liaise with security authorities
  • monitor surveillance equipment
  • operate radio equipment
  • security in commercial buildings
  • security in industrial buildings
  • surveillance methods

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A security alarm investigator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a security guard supervisor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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 12 carried skills, including the 6 the security alarm investigator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 14 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 assisting and caring 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn apply safety management required
  • still to learn respond to burglar alarm systems required
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
02 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required
  • still to learn building's electronic access equipment required
  • still to learn locking mechanisms required
03 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn keep task records required
  • still to learn read technical datasheet required
04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn manage alarm system required
  • optional, not held repair alarm system optional
  • optional, not held drive vehicles optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held assist police investigations optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a security alarm investigator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held liaise with security authorities skill
  • already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
  • 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
  • already held criminal law knowledge
  • already held deal with aggressive behaviour skill
  • already held detain offenders skill
  • already held ensure public safety and security skill
  • already held fire safety regulations knowledge
  • already held security threats knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held repair alarm system optional
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held assist police investigations optional
  • optional, not held drive vehicles optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
29 held skills the security alarm investigator role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role check methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role check official documents skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate patrols skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate security skill
  • not needed by the target role develop computer vision system skill
  • not needed by the target role document security incidents in the store skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure hotel security skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure law application skill
  • not needed by the target role execute inspection walkway skill
  • not needed by the target role handle surveillance equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role illegal substances knowledge
  • not needed by the target role legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
  • not needed by the target role legal use-of-force knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain facility security systems skill
  • not needed by the target role manage major incidents skill
  • not needed by the target role manage security equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role manage the security team skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor parking areas to maintain security skill
  • not needed by the target role patrol areas skill
  • not needed by the target role perform security checks skill
  • not needed by the target role practice vigilance skill
  • not needed by the target role provide door security skill
  • not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
  • not needed by the target role restrain individuals skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise security at manned access gates skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
  • not needed by the target role train security officers skill
  • not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
  • not needed by the target role write security reports skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn building's electronic access equipment required
  • still to learn locking mechanisms required
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a security guard supervisor become a security alarm investigator?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A security guard supervisor already covers 46% of what a security alarm investigator is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the security alarm investigator role treats as required.

What skills does a security guard supervisor need to become a security alarm investigator?

7 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is building's electronic access equipment.

How hard is the move from security guard supervisor to security alarm investigator?

Its learning distance is 51.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.