Career options in security
Easy to refuse training offer
A few weeks before being sent (or, more accurately, sentenced) to the waste-recycling centre, the placement agency offered me the chance to do a training course in security work on condition that I accepted whatever job I was offered subsequently. My response was that I know nothing about security and while I was willing to undergo the training, I couldn't agree to the conditions, not least because I don't know what the job involves. If I realised during the course that I was unsuited to the work, I couldn't possibly accept any security work. I was then told that we see security staff everywhere so we know what they do. I should have responded by saying that if I knew what they do, training would be unnecessary but the comment was so stupid that I was left speechless. I was told that I'd receive more details (by post) about the contents of the training course but I never did.
Shift work transport problem
In any case, one of the few things that I do know about security work is that it often involves working shifts, which is difficult if not impossible for anybody who is entirely reliant on public transport, as I am. Even in London, which couldn't function without public transport, that service is very poor (if it exists at all) in the small hours of the morning. In Leicester, the public transport service doesn't come close to matching what London has to offer. I'm certainly not going to move home for such a job. There is a small industrial estate (Freeman's Park) to the south of my home as well as the city centre to the north, both within easy walking distance, so it's possible that I could eventually find a security job in one of these locations. Further afield, there are other industrial estates but walking to and from these (or even some city centre locations) late at night or early in the morning would cause me to worry about my own security. So I certainly couldn't accept the first security job offered regardless of location, even if it is proven that I am capable of doing such a job.
Leicester is a city of some 300,000 people and that only represents the area controlled by the city council. A look at a map of the region shows that the urban area that includes Leicester is much larger than just the city itself. (To see this clearly, make the map page fill the whole screen, remove the address balloon by clicking the x in its top right corner, then use the controls near the top left of the map to centralise Leicester within the map area and zoom in to make the urban area stand out.) Industry is scattered all over it and I'd be lucky to get a security job that didn't cause me to have serious transport problems, if I had to accept the first one offered.
Dangerous?
Another of the few things that I know about security is that it can be a dangerous job. I'm neither brave nor strong. Faced with a robber, I'd probably just give him the keys. This, of course, won't impress any potential employer.
Boring?
Finally, I get the impression (though I could be wrong) that security work is mindlessly boring. You need immense powers of concentration to stay focused in such a job. I know that my mind would drift, which is another reason that I'd be unlikely to be suited to security work. I find it much easier to concentrate when I have a clear task to do. I can appreciate that waiting for something to happen that may not happen at all would require special powers of concentration.
Maybe I've got it all wrong
Now, my preconceptions about security work may be all wrong. Maybe it isn't boring. Maybe there are plenty of security jobs that don't require shift working. And maybe it isn't as dangerous as I imagine. Perhaps going on a training course would clarify these and other issues. But I'm certainly not going to be bullied into attending such a course on condition that I take whatever security job I am subsequently offered. Yes, I'm aware that if I turn down a job without good reason, my benefits can be stopped, but not being able to get to and from work at the required time is a very good reason. Well, I think so anyway and I'd hope that any potential employer wouldn't put me in the position of forcing me to turn down such a job.
Far from ideal
There are, of course, a couple of other factors to consider even assuming that I could do the job. One is that the pay available is modest. The other is that the job doesn't appear to make much use of my talents, nor does it offer an obvious career path to a job that does. There may indeed be circumstances in which I would be forced to take a security job, but I certainly don't relish the prospect.
Sorry, but I'd need a lot of convincing that I should pursue this option. I could only be convinced (if at all) by somebody I trust who clearly has my best interests at heart. That doesn't include anybody working for a placement agency paid by a government desperate to force people into whatever jobs are available regardless of their suitability.
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