Have You Hired A Trained Security Guard? Think Again, More Than 80% Security Guards In India Are Not Skilled

Times have changed nowadays. Theft and robbery are on the rise and you need to safeguard yourself from the thugs lurking the cities. Well, there are numerous agencies in India that supply security guards to various offices and homes in the metros. But when there is a contingency, can these private security guards help you and stop the baddies?

The demand for security guards in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore is extremely high. In fact, as many as 4,00,000 security guards are needed in each of these cities every year. What’s shocking here is that 80% of the security guards are not skilled – they are either untrained or have negligible training. Many of the agencies simply put a rookie in a uniform and send him without ensuring he has had proper training. So at the first inkling of danger or threat, they might run away or just stand there as onlookers.

Major Manjit Rajain, group chairman of Tenon Group (security specialists), revealed at a FICCI presentation that according to the Supreme Court of India, a private security guard should have at least 160 hours of training under his belt. This should include 100 hours of classroom training and 60 hours of field training. However, that is not the case with most private security guard agencies in the country. Many of them just train the guards for 7-10 days on and off the field, and send them to homes, factories and offices.

So how does one feel secure? For safety around the house, Major Rajain suggests to get your place audited by the security providers first and then take corrective measures for your physical and electronic security systems. CCTVs and alarms are a must-have around your premises.

The demand is staggering for a good security guard in India. But it is very difficult to find a skilled private security guard. Although the evolution is slow here, it is not stagnant. But some quick reforms are required to hasten the process and only those agencies that can provide skilled or highly skilled security guards should be given licences.