Security guard to security guard supervisor
A security guard already meets 67% of what the security guard supervisor role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.4/ 100
1 How much of what a security guard supervisor 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 security guard supervisor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A security guard supervisor role treats 11 of its required skills as things a security guard already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- criminal law
- detain offenders
- ensure law application
- ensure public safety and security
- execute inspection walkway
- liaise with security authorities
What stands in the way is 8 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 31 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A security guard supervisor 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 document security incidents in the store information skills
- already held security in industrial buildings services
- already held execute inspection walkway assisting and caring
- already held monitor parking areas to maintain security information skills
- already held provide door security assisting and caring
- already held security in commercial buildings services
All 31 carried skills, including the 11 the security guard supervisor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 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.
- still to learn supervise security at manned access gates required
- still to learn write security reports required
- still to learn manage security equipment required
- still to learn undertake inspections required
- still to learn coordinate patrols required
- still to learn manage the security team required
- still to learn supervise staff required
- still to learn coordinate security required
- optional, not held train security officers optional
- optional, not held develop computer vision system optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a security guard supervisor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 coordinate security practise this
- 02 supervise security at manned access gates practise this
- 03 write security reports 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 31 skills that carry over
- already held criminal law knowledge
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held ensure law application skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held execute inspection walkway skill
- already held liaise with security authorities skill
- already held maintain facility security systems skill
- already held monitor surveillance equipment skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held security threats knowledge
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
- already held check methods knowledge
- already held check official documents skill
- already held deal with aggressive behaviour skill
- already held document security incidents in the store skill
- already held ensure hotel security skill
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held illegal substances knowledge
- already held legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held manage major incidents skill
- already held monitor parking areas to maintain security skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held patrol areas skill
- already held perform security checks skill
- already held provide door security skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held security in commercial buildings knowledge
- already held security in industrial buildings knowledge
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held train security officers optional
- optional, not held develop computer vision system optional
20 held skills the security guard supervisor 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 comply with the principles of self-defence 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 ensure compliance with types of weapons 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 identify security threats skill
- 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 manage lost and found articles skill
- not needed by the target role perform body searches 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 stay alert skill
Other moves recorded from security guard
- 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
- bodyguard 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 security guard supervisor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A security guard already covers 67% of what a security guard supervisor is expected to do: 31 skills carry over, 11 of which the security guard supervisor role treats as required.
What skills does a security guard need to become a security guard supervisor?
8 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is coordinate security.
How hard is the move from security guard to security guard supervisor?
Its learning distance is 37.4 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.