[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQLVxQqyJ3U[/youtube]
In this week’s installment of the two-minute video tip, host Harlan (Hucky) Austin along with special guest Elijah Shaw talk about choosing the right Executive Protection School.
Without a doubt, one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of obtaining work as an Executive Protection Specialist (Bodyguard) is to obtain top-notch training.
That being said, it is certainly meaningful when I see Executive Protection course work from a reputable school on an individual’s resume. By reputable, I mean a program that is run by individuals who themselves have stellar credentials and years of experience in the business.
While I admit that I own a training school and my views may seem biased, here are my thoughts on vetting an EP/PPS School before attending.
1. Is the school certified to teach in other words will the certification you get mean anything or is it just a piece of paper. My school is certified by the Virginia Dept. of Criminal Justice Services PSS.
2. What is the background of the Instructor cadre teaching the course? Have they been a Special Agent with a Government Agency or did they train Special Agent’s, in EP?
3. What percentages of the students actually work in the EP field doing protection once they graduate from the school? I don’t mean working at TGI Fridays either.
4. Does the school train any Govt. Agencies or Military in EP.?
5. What type of EP is being taught? We use acronyms like PSD/EP/PSS/PSD. But in the real world training is divided into permissive, semi permissive, non-permissive environments.
6. Do they offer follow on training for EP students? Such as driving, shooting, medical training/EMT, Advanced EP training like a (5) day course on advance planning or surveillance and counter surveillance?
7. How long has the school been doing business?
8. What are you getting for the money? Schools range in price from $500, 00 to $10,000.00. You should be able to call the school and discuss your needs with the staff and they should be willing to answer your questions.
9. If they tell you they will guarantee you a job….stay away!
In my opinion we have a number of good schools to choose from. They may not all have well-known names but offer solid training.
Tom Perroni
Training Director
Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy
DCJS 88-1499
Thanks Tony
Excellent advice
Exactly right, Hucky, and this is what makes school selection so daunting in the beginning. It’s another one of those catch-22 situations: you need the training to get started, but you won’t really know what type/level of training you need until you’ve been on the job a while.
I think that many newcomers hope for a turn-key program and can get frustrated when told that there really is no such thing. For celebrity work, Icon would be a better choice than Blackwater, for example… and vice-versa for PSDs.
Sites like yours, giving people pointers for that tricky research part and promoting self-assessment, are a great help for sure. I think that those 2-minute clips pack a good punch, by the way.
Alonzo, that’s a great point. One of the questions that I asked individuals who contact me about executive protection schools is, what are your expectations upon completion of the course from that school. If you’re looking to build your EP foundation, then there are many schools that would be good choices. However, if you are looking for a resume builder or brand-name recognition then that list is going to be a lot smaller. So I think the main thing is, individuals need to know exactly what their expectations are from any particular EP course.
Hucky, keep doing what you’re doing! The information at Bodyguard Careers has been and continues to be relevant and useful to all of us in the field. Thanks!
I’ve had a couple of employers look at my resume and ask “who are they?” in reference to a school I listed. So never mind what you actually get from the training, I think that name recognition is also an important criterion when picking a school.
Elija hits the nail on the head.
Another great video. Keep them coming