Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Security guard to prison officer

A security guard already meets 47% of what the prison officer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From security guard
47 % overlap
Partial match
To prison officer
11 You already bring
5 Still to learn
29 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

50.9/ 100

1 How much of what a prison officer 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 prison officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A prison officer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a security guard already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • comply with the principles of self-defence
  • ensure compliance with types of weapons
  • identify security threats
  • illegal substances
  • legal use-of-force
  • patrol areas

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A prison officer 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held illegal substances services
  • already held comply with the principles of self-defence assisting and caring
  • already held restrain individuals assisting and caring
  • already held legal use-of-force business, administration and law
  • already held patrol areas assisting and caring
  • already held ensure law application assisting and caring

All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the prison officer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 18 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 assisting and caring 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn see to the detainees' well-being required
  • still to learn escort defendants required
  • optional, not held conduct security screenings optional
  • optional, not held conduct frisk optional
  • optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
02 services 2 required
  • still to learn correctional procedures required
  • still to learn law enforcement required
03 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn undertake inspections required
  • optional, not held maintain logbooks optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
  • optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
  • optional, not held write situation reports optional
05 management skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held manage security clearance optional
  • optional, not held contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures optional
  • optional, not held oversee rehabilitation process optional
  • optional, not held propose leisure activities optional
06 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held criminology optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a prison officer 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 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held comply with the principles of self-defence skill
  • already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
  • already held identify security threats skill
  • already held illegal substances knowledge
  • already held legal use-of-force knowledge
  • already held patrol areas skill
  • already held restrain individuals skill
  • already held ensure law application skill
  • already held handle surveillance equipment skill
  • already held practice vigilance skill
  • already held surveillance methods knowledge
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held conduct security screenings optional
  • optional, not held maintain logbooks optional
  • optional, not held manage security clearance optional
  • optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
  • optional, not held conduct frisk optional
  • optional, not held contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures optional
  • optional, not held criminology optional
  • optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
  • optional, not held oversee rehabilitation process optional
  • optional, not held propose leisure activities optional
  • optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
  • optional, not held write situation reports optional
40 held skills the prison officer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • 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 methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role check official documents 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 control crowd skill
  • not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role deal with aggressive behaviour skill
  • not needed by the target role detain offenders 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 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 execute inspection walkway 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 identify terrorism threats skill
  • not needed by the target role inspect cargo skill
  • not needed by the target role interrogate individuals skill
  • not needed by the target role legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with security authorities 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 manage major incidents skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor parking areas to maintain security skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor surveillance equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role operate radio equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role perform body searches skill
  • not needed by the target role perform security checks 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 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
  • not needed by the target role security threats knowledge
  • not needed by the target role stay alert skill
3 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 correctional procedures required
  • still to learn law enforcement required
  • optional, not held criminology optional
Index

Other moves recorded from security guard

Full index of moves from security guard

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a security guard become a prison officer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A security guard already covers 47% of what a prison officer is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the prison officer role treats as required.

What skills does a security guard need to become a prison officer?

5 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is see to the detainees' well-being.

How hard is the move from security guard to prison officer?

Its learning distance is 50.9 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.