Security training in Australia is as simple as can be. Whether you’re interested in becoming a personal security officer, a bodyguard, or pursuing any other security career, getting started is as easy as taking that first step. You might think that it takes years of physical training, martial arts, and maybe even a university degree, but it isn’t nearly so complicated.
All you need to become any kind of security officer in Australia is to earn a security licence. Though the official name of a security licence differs between each state and territory, at the end of the day it is essentially the same licence everywhere in Australia. And similarly, earning a security licence is essentially the same process everywhere too.
A guide to personal security and bodyguard training services in Australia is as straightforward as the process of getting the licence itself. Here are the steps you need to follow in order to get a job in the security industry in Australia.
Step One: Finding A Training Provider
There are countless options for training providers all over Australia. But only a select few of them provide the training required to be able to apply for a security licence with the governing state body.
So how do you find a provider that offers the services that you need?
Google is the easiest option. Any other search engine will also do. All you need to do is type in “security services training providers near me” and through the magic of the internet dozens of potential providers will suddenly flood your screen. Then the challenge becomes sorting through them all to find one with the best price, best location, and the best consumer reviews.
You can always turn to people you know for the answers too. Maybe you know someone already working in the security industry. They don’t have to be working in personal security or as a bodyguard to be able to tell you where they took their training. Even people who don’t work in security at all might hold the answers you seek; who knows, maybe a friend or family member stumbled across a training organisation that teaches security courses and can point you in their direction. But once again you’re left with the challenge of looking up that company and making sure that they’re the right fit for your needs.
Skills Training College takes away all the hassle of finding the right training organisation. You can go searching through dozens, or even hundreds of other training options, but at the end of the day no one else provides a security training course the same as us.
What to Look for in a Security Industry Training Provider:
Location
Location, location, location. It’s no good finding the perfect security training provider only to later find out that it’s too far away from where you live to be a practical option. You need somewhere closer to home.
Skills Training College has dozens of training locations all over Australia, including Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart, each of which is easily accessible by both car and public transport. There’s sure to be an option near you.
Experience
You can’t learn security skills just from reading a book, and you can’t learn them from just any old trainer either. You need to know that the person teaching you really knows what they’re talking about.
Skills Training College’s passionate and dedicated trainers are experienced in helping students from all backgrounds and walks of life develop the skill set and knowledge required to work in the security industry.
Pricing
As important as all the other factors are, at the end of the day if a course isn’t affordable then it doesn’t matter how good it is. You can’t attend a course that you can’t pay for.
Skills Training College’s security training courses are the most affordable one’s you’ll find.
Domestic and International Courses
An important thing to note about security guard training in Australia is that there are some differences between how the training is delivered to Australian residents compared to how it is delivered for international students who are in the country on a student visa. Skills Training College is a CRICOS registered training provider, meaning our courses are open to both domestic and international students.
The first difference is the amount of time to complete security training. For Australian residents the training only takes a week of full time training. For international students, CRICOS requirements stipulate that three weeks of training is required in order to ensure students possess sufficient familiarity with the local security environment. This leads directly into the second difference, that the greater amount of class time leads to a greater fee for international students.
Ultimately, it makes little difference as to whether you’re a domestic or an international student. The course content is largely the same, and when you successfully earn your qualification you’ll all be applying for the same security licence.
What You’ll Learn
There’s a lot of required knowledge that goes into working in the security industry, and as such, a lot that needs to be taught during a security course. It takes at least five days of full-time training to cover it all, so we can’t possibly recap everything here, but following is just a taste of the things you’ll learn.
- Skills to resolve conflict and security risks
- Pattern recognition for potentially dangerous individual and crowd behaviour
- Defence for close protection services and close protection operations
- Personal safety techniques including how to handle a security risk situation.
- How to comply with organisational safety procedures and operational safety procedures
After Your Course
After you’ve successfully completed your security training course, there are still a few more steps you need to take before you can work in personal protection services or bodyguard jobs.
The next thing that you need to do is apply for your security licence. As we mentioned earlier, it has a slightly different name in each Australian state and territory, but security licence is something of a universal name for them all. By looking up security licence on your state government’s website you’ll find the unique series of steps that you’ll need to follow in order to apply for your licence. A licence is necessary to work any security services job in Australia, so it’s best to do this sooner rather than later.
View our state-specific security license guides for more information:
Entry Level Security Jobs
With your security training complete and your security licence now in hand, you’re finally ready to go out and start applying for some jobs in security operations. Personal protection and bodyguard jobs are only two possibilities, and both of these have such a strong connection to the individual you’re protecting that it might be better if you build up some experience in other security roles first.
Present security information suggests that the following roles are the best ways to get your foot in the door of the industry, and all of them allow you to provide quality security services:
- Bouncer
- Crowd controller
- Private security services
- Security guards
- Protective services
- Bodyguard services
Next Steps and Further Training
Congratulations! You’re now employed in Australia’s security industry. What’s next for you? Well, that all depends on you and where you want to go in your career. If you started in another part of the sector then now is the time to start applying for those personal protection and bodyguard jobs you were after.
But maybe you’re looking a little higher. If you want to move into a management position or into a bigger and better security role, then it’s time to undertake some additional training. The great thing about the security industry is just how flexible the hours and the work are. Your hours depend on your employer, and most organisations need security personnel of some kind, so keeping your job while taking on some extra training shouldn’t be any hassle.
