Close Protection - am i too young

[m3uk]

thanks for all ur help it's much appreciated. Mickworldwide why wouldn't u consider me suitable for training? i understand not considering me for employment but training i cant see any problem with, please point out ur reasoning behind ur decision. thanks

[bonejas]

M3UK,

Now don't take this the wrong way but one of the best I heard from a seasoned guy was 'If your young, you just look like a rent boy'. Its a bit of a general statement but you get the drift. You need to get a bit of life behind you. Half the job is blending in and not being the center of attention.

Degree - out of about 50 people I know who did degrees, only 5 have stayed in the subject they attained at uni. A degree means that you have a brain and can take information on board. If you do a degree related to security, mores the better.

Misc - the other skills that you will need to pick are also very valuable. Not all CP/ security work is related to being just a BG. You wouldn't believe the amount of background work that goes into it. Sitreps/ SOP's for example - you end up with a s**t team if they don't know where they are, where they're going to be, what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it etc unless you get it all done before you walk out of the door. Screw this up and it all falls apart.

I can only encourage you to join the industry, if you want it bad enough it will happen. Read as much as you can and take a while to think about it. Ask the older guys about related work, ok you might not be a CPO but you could work in a related area etc.

Hope things work out and good luck.

[kenpsd]

m3uk, sorry mate, but I am starting to get a feeling of slight deja vu! there have been a number of people on here before you with a similar outlook. I have read the posts on here, you are getting good advice but to be honest mate, like others before you, you don't seem to be listening.!

I applaud mickworldwide for his post and his statement made on here and I agree with what he says. I also agree wth CM, I would rather have an 'older' head with me in a sh*t fight than some one like yourself.Not because I doubt your capability, but I would doubt your ability, this is my opinion based on over 30 years experience in this industry. I understand your 'chicken and egg' situation, no job because of lack of experience, how can I get experience if I can't get job.!

Before you get totally fed up, my advice to you is to have a serious look at Military/Police options, they are organisations with the back up and career developement structures to help you to grow in your work and life experiences, to reach a stage where you would have something a potential employer in the civillian environment will want. I also give you that from experience having 2 boys older than you who are following those paths and they too think I am a boring old fart!

Take care and one last bit of advice, no point in asking for advice if you don't listen to what is being said.

[Ram Man]

M3uk the situation is like this,mick has said he will not train you as you are under his coys 23 age limit, also as you are 17, you cannot buy cigs or a knife never mind beer,i am currently assisting a PMC who WILL NOT LOOK AT ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 28, this is the clients requirement on the task in hand, so to be blunt young buck,i would listen to CM and others , join the ROYALS or Rmp sorry if this isnt want you want to hear,but i agree with my brothers , if the shets goin on i want a proven bod nxt to me,good luck and stay safe ram out.

[M4MED]

Great advice on here. Apart from not blending in (through age - no fault of your own), you have to be realistic and ask yourself, 'what have I got to offer (apart from bags and bags of enthusiasm which is obvious and good to see).

You have to be able to safely and confidently drive, understand resteraunt etiquette, be comfortable in a whole host of surroundings you wouldn't normally find yourself in, understand other cultures, be able to administer first aid, converse about a whole range of subjects from current affairs to the price of oil and why it's so high. Occasionally you will be asked for your opinion by certain clients and a well informed but diplomatic opinion goes along way.

Most of these aren't taught, they just come from life experience.

As the guys said, you could do far worse than join the RMP. Get a good background in the army, police, gets some overseas operations under your belt, along with some useful courses (all paid for) and then try CP in the RMP. It doesn't come much better than that. Then, if you feel like continuing your cp career commercially.... the world is your oyster.

Best of luck.

[mickworldwide]

M3uk,

The decision not to offer training to anyone under the age of 23 is simply as a direct result of your ability to gain employment. This is not you personally , but company policy... in the same way as we don't train persons with a disclosed criminal record or foreign nationals without adequate English Language skills.

I am not stating that no company will train you , I am sure there are many that would, but look around the threads my friend, work is difficult to come by for even some of the Ex Mil and Ex Police Lads and Lasses. I would be misselling you a course if I was to make you believe that there is a possibility of work at the end of it at your age. And to be fair to train you in CP and you to hold that license would just add another person to the list of sia badge holders in the UK with no real chance of employment.

Company Policy states this age limit due to a combination of reasons , some to do with what some others have said , we need to see a certain maturity. Part of the course is live firing and to be fair many people of your age group would be a hazard to themselves or others on a range and that is a duty of care we have to our students and Instructors.

We do not train people for recreation purposes.

Hope that answers your question.

Again good luck

[M4MED]

mickworldwide,

I have to agree with everything you have said, apart from young people being a hazard with firearms.

I joined the army at 16 and the whole Regt (Junior leaders at the time) were safe and competent in no time.

In my opinion, safe use of firearms boils down to personal character, quality of instruction and supervision - not age.

However, the way that person reacts when the s*** hits the fan and employs that weapon during reactive drills, will certainly be based on in built instinctive muscle memory reactons, built up over years of doing drills, combined with an element of experience and maturity gained from being in decision making situations before etc etc. (and therefore age)

Full circle there. Which means I agree with you.

[mickworldwide]

M4MED

As I stated , many people of that age group would be a hazard to themselves and others, not all, maturity, responsibility and reaction to authority are something which can be lacking in young persons (and in some occasions those not so young). I am quite sure that prior to being firearms trained you went through the normal character building and instilling of discipline ??

That is one reason why persons of that age group would be seen as a hazard, I am not saying all 17yr olds are , and not saying M3uk is either , but I don't know him , and haven't got the time to instill the discipline, situational awareness and life skills that some of his age lack. We only have a limited time period to assess suitability in all candidates prior to going onto range work and we have found that most candidates over 23 yrs have some common sense and respect for firearms.

[M4MED]

mickworldwide,
you're absoloutely spot on. The key difference is all of the other training and the institution surrounding military weapons training. I think it's a sound decision to have an age limit of civilian firearms courses.

[Arnaud]

I'm not doing any propaganda but....

I used to be 23 years old, military experience but not operational and not recognized, studying and doing good in a world recognized technology institute...
Not happy, getting bored, looking for real life adventure, stopped my studies, tried to break into high risk security with a couple of courses, no chance.

Joined the Foreign Legion just to be sure it would give me the experience and the contacts, hell yeah, it's been almost 2 years now, I've been to Africa, I'm a corporal, doing almost nothing, having time to learn languages and professional skills, I have friends who now work in security overseas and give me good advice, well I'm more happy now than I've ever been, more confident than I've ever been !


Stick to what you really want in life buddy, but
1) make sure CP is what you really want. It's FAR from being all easy and glamorous.
2) you're young enough to spend the next ten years doing something else. Study, work on some shitty boring security jobs, join the TA/the Army/the Freign Legion/whatever military you might join, spend some money on shooting/driving/medical courses, etc etc...
3)Don't underestimate the girl factor. You might just change your life for a girl (massive mistake in my opinion but you never know)


GOOD LUCK