Security work is rewarding work. Security guards not only ensure the safety of people and property, but they provide both clients and the public with peace of mind. If you are considering joining the ranks of the UK’s security guards, this is everything you need to know to get started.

A security guard’s first port of call is, of course, to protect. Be it people, property, or assets, it is the responsibility of security guards to protect their given premises from illegal activity, including theft and harm, and to respond adequately in case of emergency. In order to do this effectively guards must receive adequate training in order to understand the primary ways to spot crime before it happens and prevent it when it does.

As such, the key tenets of the security guard are vigilance, quick decision making and a commitment to safe practice. However strong interpersonal skills are also necessary, with de-escalation skills being critical.

While all forms of guarding will have some overlap and transferable skills, each specific form of guarding will require specific skills and training.

Manned Guarding includes guarding premises, property, and people by having a physical presence on site.

Mobile Security Patrols see security guards secure disparate locations over set periods of time from mobile vehicles.

Cash and Valuables in Transit tasks security guards to protect property or cash while it is being transported between locations.

Airport Security ensures that airports are safe spaces—from searching aircrafts, passengers, and luggage to guarding the premises.

Door Security places security guards at the entrances to premises, ensuring only permitted personnel gain access.

Close Protection tasks security guards with protecting one or more individuals from crime and injury.

To become a security guard, you must first meet the following criteria:

• Be aged 18 or over.
• Pass identity and criminal record checks.
• Hold a valid Security Industry Authority (SIA) license.

To obtain an SIA license you must apply directly to the SIA with correct documentation. It is illegal to undertake any security work without an SIA license.

Even if you have a criminal record, you may still qualify to be a security guard. The SIA is responsible for determining whether your past crimes or offences disqualify you from becoming a security officer.

You can use the SIA’s free criminal record indicator to get an idea of whether your criminal record will allow you to become SIA licensed.

As a security guard, you will likely begin working with a security company or agency. After gaining enough experience and further qualification security officers can advanced into more senior roles, opening doors to management, training or opening your own security company.

If you are qualified to become a security guard and have obtained all the necessary prerequisites, consider contacting your local security company to see if they have any positions open.

If you are located in Birmingham or the West Midlands, consider searching our job listings to see if TGF security will be your next employer. As Birmingham’s leading security company, offering a wide range of security services, we are delighted to onboard talented security officers when positions are available.

Whether you’re right at the beginning of a build or close to finishing, construction sites are a natural target for thieves due to the plethora of high value equipment, machinery, and materials kept on site. As such, it is important to keep a watchful eye over your site, both night and day. This is where construction site security comes in.

The two most popular solutions for construction site security are Mobile Security Patrols and Manned Guarding.

Manned Guarding is the archetypal form of guarding, placing a security guard on site either at a given post or to make rounds of the premises. These guards can protect a location up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing you and your on-site staff with peace of mind.

Mobile Security Patrols offer a slightly more cost-effective solution to construction site security. With this style of security solution security guards will arrive on site at designated intervals in order to survey and check the premises. And in case of an emergency on site during their designated hours, be it an alarm response or a key-holding need, the security officer will quickly return to the site and take necessary action.

Thus, depending on your security needs and your budget, there are plenty of security solutions open to ensure your construction site, and all the assets kept within, will remain secure 24/7.

At TGF security, we pride ourselves on offering industry-leading security to businesses that need it. Our SIA licensed security guards would be delighted to secure your business, whether it be in Birmingham or across the West Midlands.

Our guards adhere to the highest standards of health and safety, being accredited and approved by SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) through CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety). This ensures that our guards will not only keep your construction site secure but will manage to do so while maintaining the utmost safety for your staff, assets, and the guards themselves.

As the economic shockwaves of the coronavirus pandemic continue to impact us all, it’s paramount for businesses to minimise running costs as to ensure profit margins remain lucrative. As a security company, we know well that the cost of security solutions can be a pressure on business, especially small businesses or those in their infancy.

When envisioning of security services most people immediately jump to manned guarding—the type where a security guard will remain vigilant on location. Although manned guarding is one of the most steadfast security services out there, the hourly rates it incurs can quickly become crippling for smaller businesses.

Fortunately, there are alternatives—the most universal of which being Mobile Security Patrols.

What sets Mobile Security Patrols apart from more traditional types of guarding is that they see security guards check on the site at regular intervals, instead of remaining permanently on-site. What’s more is that during their designated operating hours the security guards would also provide lightning-fast response to any alarm activations or keyholder needs.

For example, if you were looking to get your site secured overnight, a uniformed mobile security patrol would arrive on and survey the site numerous times each night. And, in the case of an alarm or keyholding need, the security guards would immediately travel to the site.

This means that mobile security patrols provide a sound alternative to manned guarding on sites where permanent, physical security presence is not necessary.

Instead of requiring an hourly rate, mobile security patrols are provided for set prices per visit.

Most clearly, this can help reduce overall costs incurred by hourly rates. But more importantly this allows you to gain full control over your security—giving you the ability to find the perfect balance to fulfil your security needs and while remaining well within budget.

As such, mobile security patrols offer a budget-friendly option for securing your site, responding to alarms and taking on keyholder responsibilities.

Here at TGF Security, our SIA licensed security guards would be delighted to secure your business in Birmingham or across the West Midlands. As we are accredited and approved by SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) through CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety), they adhere to the highest standards of health and safety ensuring that your site will not only remain secured, but that it will be done with the utmost safety.

Trusting a company with your security is a large commitment, so it certainly isn’t one you want to rush into. Your business will have a swath of unique wants and needs, and each security company will offer slightly different services. As such, it’s worth committing enough time to researching the best options for you.
That said, research can often be extremely time consuming, so to help streamline the process for you here are our 10 key factors worth considering when choosing a security company.

Reviews and word of mouth is a fantastic place to start. The foremost place to find customer reviews is, of course, online. However, if you are in close contact with other companies who utilise security services it can be even more valuable to speak to businesses similar to yours. This not only lets you know what security providers they use and trust but can also help you to avoid any mistakes they may have done in the past.

Your business is unique, and you have unique needs. As such it’s vital that you find out early on whether the company offers the services you require. For example, if you require a manned security service, key holding and a night patrol you’ll need to do some searching to find a business that will satisfy all your needs.

It goes without saying that when you hire someone you want to be hiring a professional. As such, you should always double check that the security guards hold an SIA license. The SIA (Security Industry Authority) is the regulatory body for private security and ensure that a certain standard is upheld. Not only is hiring a non-qualified guard a bad decision for the safety of your business but practicing or hiring security services without the proper qualification is against the law. So, to avoid unforeseen fines or even up to six months imprisonment double check that they are fully qualified with the SIA.

Qualification aside, officers often have skills extending beyond security alone. First aid is a common skill, for example. It can be a cost-effective solution to hire multi-talented security officers.

Very few things are substitutes for experience. Being an active business for many years doesn’t necessarily denote quality but it does suggest a higher level of competence. Services with extensive experience will often also offer a wider variety of services, officers and have a plethora of previous clients who can testify their quality.

Depending on your requirements, you may want to hire a security company with certain levels of flexibility—such as short term-contracts, emergency cover and night watch. Alternatively, you may be wanting to test the water, looking for a service you can easily up or down scale without being locked into a long contract. Be sure to understand your specific needs before hiring and ensure that your service fits those needs.

Good customer service is a must for any service as it ensures queries or troubles are dealt with quickly and effectively, while keeping you satisfied. Low prices way below the competition can often imply customer service issues, so be sure to factor good customer service into your perception of a value service.

Fantastic customer service starts with being able to get in touch with your service with ease. If it takes a long time for your potential provider to respond to email queries, this could be a red flag. Both because it suggests poor customer service and it implies they do not value your query. Of course, long inquiry response times can be for other reasons, but it’s important that you feel your security service will respond quickly if there ever is an urgent problem that needs solving.

Guard tracking can provide valuable piece of mind. It allows you to keep track of where your guards are when and, ultimately, if they are doing their job. Thus, it’s a feature that can be well worth the additional cost.

Value is the word when it comes to buying any service. And while it’s easy to be sucked in by an effective sales pitch or a low price, it’s always worth looking back at yourself, and your business. First consider your original budget, then the features that are being offered and the overall feeling you get about the company after reading reviews and communicating with them in person. If you feel like you are getting good value while sticking within your budget, you’re probably along the right lines.

Now that you have a few tools by which to measure any potential security company, you are ready to search. Again, ensure you do commit enough time to this stage as you never want to feel like you have made the wrong decision after signing a contract!

During your search why not consider TGF security. We are a market-leading security company working in both the public and private sectors, offering a wide range of services across various locations throughout England’s west midlands.

The professional security business is a large one. In the UK, there are several major players. The top 5, by their annual turnover are:

1. Mitie Total Security Management- £594,000,000
2. G4S – £430,000,000
3. Securitas Security Services – £260,000,000
4. OCS Group – £165,000,000
5. Bidvest Noonan – £137,00,000

The logic of the market implies that the security businesses that make the most money, that have risen to the top of the list, are the best ones out there. But that theory may not be true in practice. So, you have to ask: are the biggest security companies really the best?

A great security company has several different characteristics. It must be knowledgeable. Both about the type of security a business needs, and are able to talk and communicate that with clients, and also about the local area. A big security firm splits different spheres of expertise across many different workers. That could hinder communication and makes smaller security firms sometimes a better bet.

Good security companies also have a desire to forge long-term relationships with their clients. Security is all about knowledge. Working with a client over a long period builds up that knowledge and allows security firms to enhance their expertise and reputation. Large security agencies, with thousands of clients, may lose that perspective and not care about one client or another.

Security is all about providing peace of mind. That’s why a good security agency will be stable and have a strong history behind it. That shows you that they have the experience to get the job done. It also means that they won’t go bust, leaving you scrambling to find a quick fix in a bad situation.

The first thing you should look for when choosing a security company is the accreditations they have. Security companies should be jumping at the chance to prove that they do hold these. These certificates are won by adhering to a high standard and following government regulations.

Another thing to look out for is the portfolio of a firm. Security agencies that specialise in retail security might not be a good fit for securing a construction site. A diverse portfolio of clients showcases professionalism, knowledge and great relationships a business has fostered. These are things to look for when choosing a security agency.

Protecting staff, customers and valuables is the role of every security company. Having good security means that you never have to worry about theft, about nuisance or dangerous people and can focus on growing and expanding your business. That’s hard enough to do, you don’t need other things holding you back.

Well trained, SIA licensed security guards will deter criminals, secure a location and handle any crime that does occur in a speedy, professional manner. Hiring a good security agency means that all this is handled for you.

The big 5 security companies rake in hundreds of millions of pounds a year. They have hundreds, if not thousands, of clients. They are also diversified. They offer security solutions for every conceivable business or sector. But they go beyond this. Most will offer other services, like cleaning or food preparation. That means they might not always have their eye on the security ball. It also means they need to hire thousands of people to provide those services. They can be less discerning in the people they bring into their business than smaller security agencies, who depend on their professional and polite staff to grow their reputation. Big security agencies are also easy to hire – it requires little thought or effort on their part to convince someone to hire them. It’s G4S, they are coasting off their name and size. Smaller security firms do not have that problem.

Biggest doesn’t always mean best. It’s important to keep that in mind when choosing a security company that you can rely on. Knowing what makes a good security firm and how to identify one, will let you concentrate on growing your business.

Did you know that 61% of burglaries occur during the evening/night*?

TGF Security can help increase your security by providing SIA Licensed Security Guards, Mobile Security Patrols, Alarm Response and Key Holding, Security Signs and more.