Hi Marian and welcome to this little corner of the "interweb"

It seems you have already figured out regarding training companies and their blurb. Not all is what it seems and going by forums is a smart idea and was what I did to find more honest views. The official website and marketing information is as you said above. I should know as I wrote a two page article for Royal Close Protection this year in Pathfinder and it really didn't match what it ended up being despite the promises and assurances from the Director (Sorry guys I really did not intend to mislead anyone and what I wrote I sincerely believed was possible with that company, I know I will burn in hell for that!)

I take it that you are female from your log in name, if so then your market is quite different from males entering the industry. Female CPO's are comaprativly rare but are on the increase, consequently there are quite a few job openings for you, I can think of one company in Dubai that actively recruits only female staff and there are other ones appearing all the time. Also pay will be somewhat higher than a male counterpart of similar background and experience. The fact you are not ex military should not be a barrier especially as you are looking more into corporate work and also have some security background.

You will find on other threads quite a bit on information regarding training companies and the rather dynamic nature of their training quality. Get fresh information from anyone that is not only after the same line of work but of similar background and get their feedback. After all I have seen first hand a company that in one course performs well and the next course because of a change of trainers or disputes amongst management a shift either up or down in quality. This can also be contributed by the students on that course as personality clashes can make a difference too which is why a good trainer is so important.

I do say to quite a few people that don't forget about surveillance work, Medic (if thinking of high risk work) and Ops as traditionally these areas were not the most popular avenues buy people wanting to get into the industry but are actually more interesting from my own personal perspective. What I will say is the SIA list of approved trainers is in no way a benchmark for that company delivering the training you want. I they have an open day then check them out and see if they have an open door policy regarding more informal discussions. I have been reading the posts regarding Greyman and from what they have said so far seem to be at least thinking in the right way regarding training concepts.

One last thing is don't fall for the "we will get you work once you pass" although it can and does happen, mostly the promises and the reality do not have parity but I think you have already works that out too.

Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.

Nomad