Nomad
Moderator
Finding Work In CP (UK Market)
After writing a Beginners’ Guide to Becoming a Close Protection Officer a few years ago and having seen a great deal of questions being asked recently regarding getting started in this industry. I thought it was time to add my experiences since then to help others. I can’t offer any advice for HE as that isn’t my experience. I can only offer a perspective from a civilian background coming into the UK market.
Is It Well Paid?
The first thing you have to ask yourself is why you want to get into this career and what you have to offer that makes you different from all the rest that are trying to get into this field. If it is because you think it is very well paid then you may have to think again. Some do command good rates of pay but most of these have had extensive experience in either DPG or RMP (Ones that have actually done the RMP CP course) and some SF. If you have just left the army with an average career and a few operational tours then you will be joining the masses that are already trying to get a foot in the door. At the moment there are hundreds of people just like you, which are trying but not getting much more than the odd contract, the rest being made up of other security work or maybe some RST positions.
If you do a quick calculation of the average hourly rate for RST and quality event work being £12 per hour getting 48 hours a week then you will probably earn £29,952 before tax. In reality there will be periods where there isn’t any work so yearly earnings will be less than that figure. Compare that with a friend of mine that is a self employed electrician fitting cooker elements. He charges £95 for less than an hour’s work with a part that costs about £10 and probably less than £10 in diesel. That works out to about £70 per hour with the same unpredictability of work load but he rarely starts before 10am and often back home before 6pm. To get qualified as an electrician would probably cost about the same as doing a mid priced CP course.
If it is the money you are after then a trade will be a better bet especially if you have learned a trade in the armed forces which means little training needed once you have left.
What Am I Likely To Earn?
Let’s break it down into components:
A good job will cover expenses but not always accommodation so that has to be factored in as well. Most jobs will not cover any additional expenses. Some others may have differing rates but these are the ones I have encountered, the maximum figures I have earned.
I Have Done My Course But I Am Not Finding Any Work.
This is what happens to most people after doing a CP course and expectations of jumping into a contract don’t materialise. One of the main reasons for this is that some training providers don’t really paint the true picture of the industry and for obvious reasons. They are in the business of selling courses. If they told the harsh truth then you probably would walk away and become an electrician for example! Some of this depends on who you did your course with. Some have an operational arm to their company and even though nothing is a guarantee, it does at least offer a chance of getting a foot in the door.
It would be wise to see what other past students have gained after doing a course and be critical of those roles. Some jobs are not CP, much like with roles being described as RST when in fact they are static guarding, or CP when it is in fact a book signing and you have no direct responsibility to the author apart from crowd management at a Waterstones!
Another common mistake is to flood as many companies as possible with your CV. To be honest most companies are getting flooded with CV’s on a daily basis (some mention around 200 a day!) so already you will probably be put in the bin. Using CV writing companies might not always be the best path as so many people are getting someone else to write their CV that there is a high chance yours will look the same as a few others and the main point of a CV is it is a personal statement not a commodity.
Most jobs are passed between people that you have worked with before so it makes more sense to get on to any work going and network with other team members to get the next opportunity. What may seem like a boring dead end job could end up providing you with a good amount of work later. This is something that happened to me where a 5 day £10 per hour job got me around £14,000 worth of work with a very good employer in the past year alone. So it pays to do every job well as you never know where it will lead. Using this way of working has earned me £37,000 over the last two years and I have never in that time sent out a CV to a company looking for work. It is as many say it is who you know that counts in gaining further work.
That figure above is with having a fair amount of time off including the Olympic period so I could enjoy the event properly, trips abroad to see friends and a proper Christmas break. I could have earned more if I applied myself more.
What I will say is be prepared to be flexible and available. The majority of my earnings have come from work outside of CP tasks but it was working with some of those people that opened up opportunities in areas I had not previously thought about.
How Can I Increase My Earning Potential?
A CP course on its own isn’t going to do much to separate you from everyone else, what will is the additional skills you may possess. This could be skills you already have such as languages or recreational hobbies like diving, skiing or other industry related courses like advanced driving, surveillance, medical or even telecommunications and engineering. One thing that is important is an ability to understand the environment and the people you are likely to work for. An understanding of the business world and etiquette for corporate clients and media and TV for celebrities will be advantageous. You could also look at getting into surveillance or counter surveillance which not only could be another revenue stream but also helpful on a CP task to have a specialist in that field. Obviously you could also use your other skills in the down times; I do graphic design as a side line which only requires a laptop and some time / skills. It would not pay the rent but is an added extra for those quiet times.
Is It Worth Doing A Firearms Course?
Short answer is no, for UK work you cannot carry firearms so your training money would be far better being put towards an advanced driving or surveillance course which would offer a good return for your money. If you have never handled weapons before then a two week course will be of no use to gain employment for foreign tasks abroad anyway. The only reason is for personal enjoyment, any training provider that tells you otherwise are lying to you to get your money!
What Are The Prospects In The Industry At The Moment?
As you have heard from many on here the industry is saturated at the moment, not only is there a large amount of ex forces entering the private sector but the recent push of extra security staff due to the Olympics which are surplus to requirements are also now looking for work. Particularly from January to March there is far less work available than the rest of the year. This will have a knock on effect on rates and the publicly available jobs. More jobs will be passed around through internal networking than any advertising or ad hoc CV submissions.
What may be a good opening is the flurry of AGMs that start up towards the end of the financial year. The pay varies a fair bit depending on the client, the company employing (or subcontractor) and venue but it is a very good way of meeting many who work various CP roles in London during the summer months. It is a very small industry so you will start to see familiar faces fairly quickly.
It will be harder over the coming year and foresee some companies going in house to supply security staff in some areas, further closing off revenue streams. Having said that, with determination and a good work ethic, you could find your niche within the industry.
I hope that helps answer some of the questions and everyone please feel free to add any additional information and experiences which will help others starting out.
After writing a Beginners’ Guide to Becoming a Close Protection Officer a few years ago and having seen a great deal of questions being asked recently regarding getting started in this industry. I thought it was time to add my experiences since then to help others. I can’t offer any advice for HE as that isn’t my experience. I can only offer a perspective from a civilian background coming into the UK market.
Is It Well Paid?
The first thing you have to ask yourself is why you want to get into this career and what you have to offer that makes you different from all the rest that are trying to get into this field. If it is because you think it is very well paid then you may have to think again. Some do command good rates of pay but most of these have had extensive experience in either DPG or RMP (Ones that have actually done the RMP CP course) and some SF. If you have just left the army with an average career and a few operational tours then you will be joining the masses that are already trying to get a foot in the door. At the moment there are hundreds of people just like you, which are trying but not getting much more than the odd contract, the rest being made up of other security work or maybe some RST positions.
If you do a quick calculation of the average hourly rate for RST and quality event work being £12 per hour getting 48 hours a week then you will probably earn £29,952 before tax. In reality there will be periods where there isn’t any work so yearly earnings will be less than that figure. Compare that with a friend of mine that is a self employed electrician fitting cooker elements. He charges £95 for less than an hour’s work with a part that costs about £10 and probably less than £10 in diesel. That works out to about £70 per hour with the same unpredictability of work load but he rarely starts before 10am and often back home before 6pm. To get qualified as an electrician would probably cost about the same as doing a mid priced CP course.
If it is the money you are after then a trade will be a better bet especially if you have learned a trade in the armed forces which means little training needed once you have left.
What Am I Likely To Earn?
Let’s break it down into components:
- Quality event work: £11 - £15 per hour
- RST - £120 - £150 per day for a 12 hour day
- AGMs: £120 - £165 per day
- CP: £180 - £300 per day, hours various dependant on client
- Surveillance: £250 - £300 per day or approx £25 per hour
A good job will cover expenses but not always accommodation so that has to be factored in as well. Most jobs will not cover any additional expenses. Some others may have differing rates but these are the ones I have encountered, the maximum figures I have earned.
I Have Done My Course But I Am Not Finding Any Work.
This is what happens to most people after doing a CP course and expectations of jumping into a contract don’t materialise. One of the main reasons for this is that some training providers don’t really paint the true picture of the industry and for obvious reasons. They are in the business of selling courses. If they told the harsh truth then you probably would walk away and become an electrician for example! Some of this depends on who you did your course with. Some have an operational arm to their company and even though nothing is a guarantee, it does at least offer a chance of getting a foot in the door.
It would be wise to see what other past students have gained after doing a course and be critical of those roles. Some jobs are not CP, much like with roles being described as RST when in fact they are static guarding, or CP when it is in fact a book signing and you have no direct responsibility to the author apart from crowd management at a Waterstones!
Another common mistake is to flood as many companies as possible with your CV. To be honest most companies are getting flooded with CV’s on a daily basis (some mention around 200 a day!) so already you will probably be put in the bin. Using CV writing companies might not always be the best path as so many people are getting someone else to write their CV that there is a high chance yours will look the same as a few others and the main point of a CV is it is a personal statement not a commodity.
Most jobs are passed between people that you have worked with before so it makes more sense to get on to any work going and network with other team members to get the next opportunity. What may seem like a boring dead end job could end up providing you with a good amount of work later. This is something that happened to me where a 5 day £10 per hour job got me around £14,000 worth of work with a very good employer in the past year alone. So it pays to do every job well as you never know where it will lead. Using this way of working has earned me £37,000 over the last two years and I have never in that time sent out a CV to a company looking for work. It is as many say it is who you know that counts in gaining further work.
That figure above is with having a fair amount of time off including the Olympic period so I could enjoy the event properly, trips abroad to see friends and a proper Christmas break. I could have earned more if I applied myself more.
What I will say is be prepared to be flexible and available. The majority of my earnings have come from work outside of CP tasks but it was working with some of those people that opened up opportunities in areas I had not previously thought about.
How Can I Increase My Earning Potential?
A CP course on its own isn’t going to do much to separate you from everyone else, what will is the additional skills you may possess. This could be skills you already have such as languages or recreational hobbies like diving, skiing or other industry related courses like advanced driving, surveillance, medical or even telecommunications and engineering. One thing that is important is an ability to understand the environment and the people you are likely to work for. An understanding of the business world and etiquette for corporate clients and media and TV for celebrities will be advantageous. You could also look at getting into surveillance or counter surveillance which not only could be another revenue stream but also helpful on a CP task to have a specialist in that field. Obviously you could also use your other skills in the down times; I do graphic design as a side line which only requires a laptop and some time / skills. It would not pay the rent but is an added extra for those quiet times.
Is It Worth Doing A Firearms Course?
Short answer is no, for UK work you cannot carry firearms so your training money would be far better being put towards an advanced driving or surveillance course which would offer a good return for your money. If you have never handled weapons before then a two week course will be of no use to gain employment for foreign tasks abroad anyway. The only reason is for personal enjoyment, any training provider that tells you otherwise are lying to you to get your money!
What Are The Prospects In The Industry At The Moment?
As you have heard from many on here the industry is saturated at the moment, not only is there a large amount of ex forces entering the private sector but the recent push of extra security staff due to the Olympics which are surplus to requirements are also now looking for work. Particularly from January to March there is far less work available than the rest of the year. This will have a knock on effect on rates and the publicly available jobs. More jobs will be passed around through internal networking than any advertising or ad hoc CV submissions.
What may be a good opening is the flurry of AGMs that start up towards the end of the financial year. The pay varies a fair bit depending on the client, the company employing (or subcontractor) and venue but it is a very good way of meeting many who work various CP roles in London during the summer months. It is a very small industry so you will start to see familiar faces fairly quickly.
It will be harder over the coming year and foresee some companies going in house to supply security staff in some areas, further closing off revenue streams. Having said that, with determination and a good work ethic, you could find your niche within the industry.
I hope that helps answer some of the questions and everyone please feel free to add any additional information and experiences which will help others starting out.
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