Security guard to bodyguard
A security guard already meets 59% of what the bodyguard role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.1/ 100
1 How much of what a bodyguard is expected to do is already part of a security 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 bodyguard role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A bodyguard role treats 15 of its required skills as things a security guard already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- check methods
- comply with the principles of self-defence
- control crowd
- detain offenders
- execute inspection walkway
- identify security threats
What stands in the way is 9 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 bodyguard role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a security guard 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 check methods social sciences, journalism and information
- already held perform security checks assisting and caring
All 26 carried skills, including the 15 the bodyguard role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 8 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 identify suspicious behaviour required
- still to learn protect important clients required
- still to learn react calmly in stressful situations required
- optional, not held identify surveillance devices optional
- optional, not held provide protective escort optional
- optional, not held provide secured transportation optional
- still to learn adapt to changing situations required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn work in shifts required
- optional, not held assist emergency services optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- still to learn secure premises required
- still to learn check subjects required
- optional, not held search for explosive devices optional
- still to learn body language required
- optional, not held apply advanced driving techniques optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
- optional, not held European firearms-control legislation optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a bodyguard role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 secure premises practise this
- 02 adapt to changing situations practise this
- 03 body language study 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 methods knowledge
- already held comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- already held control crowd skill
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held execute inspection walkway skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held liaise with security authorities skill
- already held manage major incidents skill
- already held perform body searches skill
- already held perform security checks skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held security threats knowledge
- already held stay alert skill
- already held check official documents skill
- already held deal with aggressive behaviour skill
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held identify terrorism threats skill
- already held interrogate individuals skill
- already held legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held patrol areas skill
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held coordinate patrols optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held identify surveillance devices optional
- optional, not held provide protective escort optional
- optional, not held search for explosive devices optional
- optional, not held European firearms-control legislation optional
- optional, not held apply advanced driving techniques optional
- optional, not held assist emergency services optional
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held coordinate patrols optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
- optional, not held provide secured transportation optional
25 held skills the bodyguard role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role alarm systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out security activities with a dog skill
- not needed by the target role check tickets at venue entry skill
- not needed by the target role conduct airport security screening skill
- not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
- 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 ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role ensure security on ships skill
- not needed by the target role ensure store security skill
- not needed by the target role exercise security in hospitals skill
- not needed by the target role explosives knowledge
- not needed by the target role fire safety regulations knowledge
- 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 inspect cargo skill
- not needed by the target role maintain facility security systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage lost and found articles skill
- not needed by the target role monitor parking areas to maintain security skill
- not needed by the target role provide door security skill
- not needed by the target role provide security in detention centres skill
- not needed by the target role regulate traffic skill
- not needed by the target role security in commercial buildings knowledge
- not needed by the target role security in industrial buildings knowledge
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn body language required
- optional, not held European firearms-control legislation optional
- optional, not held first response optional
Other moves recorded from security guard
- security guard supervisor 67% covered · moderate
- door supervisor 66% covered · moderate
- gate guard 66% covered · moderate
- hand luggage inspector 65% covered · moderate
- crowd controller 62% covered · moderate
- store detective 60% covered · moderate
- security alarm investigator 48% covered · moderate
- prison officer 47% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a security guard become a bodyguard?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A security guard already covers 59% of what a bodyguard is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 15 of which the bodyguard role treats as required.
What skills does a security guard need to become a bodyguard?
9 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is secure premises.
How hard is the move from security guard to bodyguard?
Its learning distance is 48.1 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.