Career and Job Seekers

Security industry overview

Deciding which career pathway to follow requires evaluation of as much valid information as possible. Below is a list of critical factors that will assist in deciding which pathway to choose.

The Security Industry in Australia has two distinct sectors — Manpower and Technical/ Electronic. It incorporates over 6000 businesses employing more than 110,000 licensed personnel with workforce numbers forecast to continue rising through to 2017.New South Wales has approximately 32,500 licensed personnel and over 50 per cent of these are employed in the Sydney region with the balance in country centres throughout the state. There is an increasing focus on raising the number of females in both sectors of the industry from the current level of 11 per cent.

Where do I find a list of occupations?

The Manpower sector of the industry (ie, guarding, patrolling, crowd control and cash in transit) employs a large percentage of all licensed personnel.

The main jobs in the Manpower Sector are:

The Technical/Electronics sector (ie, access control, alarms, biometrics and CCTV) has experienced strong growth in recent years. This has been driven by an increasing use of CCTV surveillance technologies, access control systems and the emergence of new technologies such as biometrics (facial, iris, fingerprint and voice recognition).

The main jobs in the Technical/Electronic Sector are:

To find out more about the possible occupations click here.

Most of the occupations listed as part of the two security sectors can be accessed by clicking on a title which will open to a comprehensive overview of the occupation including:

To obtain a summary of the overview click on Reports & Links and then click on Occupational Bulletin

What qualifications will I need?

Once you’ve chosen one or more occupations the next step is to find their relationship to qualifications required to work in the Industry. To get the full picture, click here and follow the steps.

Qualifications and Occupations/Industry Sectors:

Please enter

CPP07 Services Training Package and click on View Report

Where do I get my training?

At this point one or maybe two job/career selections have been made and now the question is how is the training undertaken and completed to match industry requirements. The following two sites will provide assistance in obtaining the necessary training to achieve entry into the industry.   

Traineeships in Technical/Electronic Security in NSW.

Training courses subsidised by the NSW Government

Skills Recognition

'Skills recognition' is a generic term that can be used to cover the range of ways an individual's skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications can be formally acknowledged, including: Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Credit transfer (including national recognition) Overseas qualifications assessment.

RPL

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) involves the assessment of previously unrecognised skills and knowledge an individual has achieved outside the formal education and training system. 

RPL assesses this unrecognised learning against the requirements of a formal qualification. By removing the need for duplication of learning, RPL encourages an individual to continue upgrading their skills and knowledge through structured education and training towards formal qualifications and improved employment outcomes.

In order to recognise prior learning it is necessary to: compare the informal or non-formal learning the individual has achieved against the learning outcomes or performance criteria of the course or qualification for which the student is using as a basis for seeking entry or the award of credit, and determine appropriate evidence to support the claim of prior learning. 

The processes used to assess RPL applications may take several (not mutually exclusive) forms, for example:

Credit Transfer

Credit transfer involves assessing a previously completed course or subject to see if it provides equivalent learning or competency outcomes to those required within the student's current course of study.

It is used when a student seeks credit for a course or subject they have already completed. It is based on agreements between institutions or organisations as to the credit value to be given for specific units of competency and learning outcomes within a course or qualification. Formal documentation of equivalence (for example a mapping guide) is required.

Credit transfer can also be cross-sectoral. For example, students may seek to have vocational education and training qualifications credited against higher education subjects, or the reverse. Processes for credit transfer should be developed and administered by individual organisations.

National Recognition

National recognition is unique to the vocational education and training system. It means that a student automatically has credit for units of competency that they have completed at another registered training organisation (RTO).

A statement of attainment from another RTO that contributes to a qualification is reported as a form of credit transfer.

Overseas qualifications

There are several options available to individuals who hold overseas qualifications, but wish to commence a career in Australia. Comparisons between overseas qualifications and Australian qualifications (except for school-level qualifications) may be established through the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) — a Commonwealth government agency. Individuals seeking formal recognition of their qualifications should contact NOOSR.

While formal recognition of overseas qualification is possible through NOOSR, ASIC has specific obligations for Australia and it will almost certainly be necessary to undertake some additional training (or assessment) to meet Australian regulatory requirements, particularly in relation to the distinct characteristics and products of the Australian environment.

This exercise of locally qualifying yourself will involve approaching an Australian training organization, known as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), to do an assessment of your skills and education for you and determine in which area or areas you require additional training to become fully compliant with current regulation.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Confused by all those letters? Don't understand that phrase? See our Glossary of Terms and Acronyms