Course Selection Advice

annie

I keep hearing all this talk about how women are in demand and how more are needed...... so why am i not working then after sending out a load of C.V's, and doing follow up courses and everything else, i have experience in the field, i have done work, i'm not that much a newbie but would certaihnly not claim to be anything special...... and it isn't just me either i know loads of women who are in the same boat!! We keep hearing these more women are needed stories but so far after pretty much exhausting the lists..... i'm not and neither are many women getting handed all of these so called jobs.

Not a whine, i don't do whining just a fair point is all

praetorian550

I have dropped you a PM to avoid 8 million emails!!

James Mc

I can sympathise with you Annie, it must be frustrating, however, how far do you get with the selection process?

Do you follow up call's in relation to applications & return application packs?

Are you getting as far as the interview?

I'm not trying to sound funny or teach you how to suck eggs, but there are quite a few female cpo's i know, are getting offers of work left, right & centre. especially looking after peoples children, becouse some of them have asked me about pead's first aid courses.

It would appear to me that women are being selected more for this type of contract than men.

I even offered to shave my legs, but to no avail!

annie

Wheras i am looking for work james, i do have standards and i won't work for certain people, as i think is my right, just as anyone else has that right, i do my homework and i look into all companies that i apply to carefully before i make any decisions. After all there are many rogue companies amongst the finer ones out there, i have been caught out in the past and shan't be again. After all my work reputation depends upon whom i work for and i like any male or female cannot afford to find themselves working for someone who on the whole could kill off any chance of further employment that i could have. BAckhand tactics and those who are not legitimate really aren't worth working for in the long run and they belittle all the good opertors and companies out there.

James Mc

Good for you Annie,

thats what we have been talking about throughout this thread, people with business morals & ethics.

What i was asking & which you have answered, was, were you sending you cv away & not recieving any feed back from the companies concerned,thereby just having your cv harvested.

Scab

Agree with all points made; though I think if everyone was truely honest about chances of employment, at least shortly after training, the training industry would for the most part fold up..!


On the lighter note; yes the industry needs more women. More so than that it needs more women who look like women...

Present company excepted, Annie!

psdtraining

All, can we possibly stay "on topic" here, Scab has raised a good post, with some valid, well presented points, although one or two replies seem are a little "self promoting", none the less, a great post.

Blatant self promotion for our company warning! " Our current D.S team are all operational, with clients and the likes of Aegis, Hart and rotate in and out of their teaching time to keep things fresh, always have, always will........ end of blatant self promotion.

It's just a pity that some training companies see £ signs before they think of the outcome of putting more and more "licensed, but no experience" people on the ground, all fighting for the work that is available.

More emphasis on promoting yourself and your skill sets is required and above all else, how to network!

I get emails everyday, mostly BLANK ones with CV's attached from people looking for work, you always know when a course has finished somewhere..


Back on topic......... problem is, now the standards are set, it seems "those that make the decisions" believe their job is done, instead of further discussions on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, to evaluate the processes that are now in place.

Some countries, such as South Africa, have these meetings on a regular basis and do impliment changes within their government policies and licensing.

AB
Psd Training

annie

technically speaking as a training provider you are expected to provide just that.... the training! That is all! Now in my opinion a decent provider will either state from the beginning their status here, if they do or do not give assistance beyond the training. If they don't then they don't. It doesn't mean they are bad trainers, it simply means that they are upfront and honest about what they do offer. Personally i would never trust any company who 'promised' work after a course. Nobody can promise work, in any training scenario, it's just not realistic.

I have trained a good few people and sadly i wasnt involved in selection process of candidates, if they had the cash they got on, nothing to do with me. Out of all of them i'd maybe actually personally work with maybe 3 of them. And that is crap, and one of reasons i quit. I like to think that if i am involved with training someone then chances are someday i may have to work with them. How can we keep churning out people that many of us would simply not wish to work with.

shakespeare

The CP market is cyclic.


We have turned the corner with the introduction of the sia. The market is completely flooded. The SIA is solely a Treasury exercise to collect revenue that was previously "Gifted" or "undeclared" shall I say.

In order to greatly increase treasury revenue flow they purposely made the SIA CP test easy....no point in making it hard if you want everyone to join, is there? Tax revenue from the SIA, tax revenue from the operator who is registered with the SIA...Job done. I am talking from fact...those of you who did the BTEC Advanced CP Diploma when first introduced in 2001/2 will know how different it was, ex SAS instructors, 3 weeks of study and field excercises, 1 week of Hostile Remote Medic, then 3/4 weeks of assessments after the course, then a 1 week CP firearms course with the legend Jim Diveny. It was standard practice....BUT, if you passed the assessments it didn't matter...the instructors could seal your fate if you had the wrong attitude before you even closed the door behind you at the end of the course. Prospective employers would snap up operators often immediately upon completion of the courses and the starting pay for a CP in 2000 was £150, accommodation and food provided etc etc. In 2008 you have operators working for LESS money even though the cost of living has almost trippled, with no accommodation, no food allowance etc etc etc. A security guard working in the City actually earns slighty more (check Gumtree-security-canary wharf).
Todays SIA CP exam is thought of by many of us as a joke.

The situation we have now is that for every entry level job posted (including hostile), a company could recieve over 200-300 emails within 2 days. This is on top of the daily unsolicited cv's sent in anyway. A company will always take the "known" experienced chap/lady over someone unknown with little or no experience if it's a known client who pays well. Sounds harsh, but thats the reality. As I said earlier the market is cyclic.... it will take a few years for it to recover as people don't pay to renew their SIA badges and drop out of the game.


I wish everyone the best of luck in employment. I respect the training providers who tell students exactly how it is, the market IS flooded.

psdtraining

hear, hear... well said .........

HOWEVER...... I would also say, that the market can stay flooded, but only the good guys (& girls) get jobs, off the back of their reputation, either, on course, or on job.

Too many potential students ask the wrong questions when enquiring about courses, "can you guarantee work after course?" etc, etc........... courses are not places to gain employment, they are places to gain SKILLS and experience and NETWORKING opportunities, that in turn gain you employment.

I would also say clearly, MOTIVATION is a key area...... if your motivation to do a course is because the training provider is saying they guarantee work, then you fail at the first hurdle, due dilligence.

As Scab rightly pointed out, too many providers are now running courses to cover the minimum standards, yes they are cheap, yes they are quick, but investment in your career shows well on your CV, if you are starting at the bottom of the ladder you need to invest, time, effort AND money.

AB
Clearly a training provider!
Psd Training