Personal Protection Employment Report

Scope:
The Scope of the Questionnaire was to develop a report, which could be used by training providers, to
create a more relevant training curriculum and to direct marketing efforts in the right direction.
Further the report can be used by future Personal Protection employees to figure out, which segment to
target, when looking for work.
Quality/validity:
After 90 days of gathering information through social media and direct mail, only 32 respondents answered
all questions. Therefore the questionnaire and the report derived from it, is empiric in every sense. The
Quality of the report is depending on the individual respondents honesty and the number of answers
collected. Assuming that the respondents have an interest in the report, we must also assume, that the
respondents have answered honestly.
The sources used were Social Media (Facebook groups, Linkedin and Twitter), Direct mail and 4 personal
interviews.
The question groups:
A. Demographics. Demographics is used to define age, sex, and locality
B. Segment. The segments will show how many people that works in a certain profession or subprofession. In this case also specified client types.
C. Employment status. Status is registered to validate information (current/old info) and to figure out,
how much work is available. In this case also the duration of assignments.

Your age?
The average close protection operative is between 30 years and 49 years. According to this survey, less
than 3,5 % is below 30 years of age. Given the nature of the work, it may be surprising; as the common
belief is that a Close Protection Officer must be fit, strong and fast. An explanation for this can be that
people answering surveys often are more mature, than the opposite. Another reason can be that the
average client using close protection is of a certain age, and prefer someone mature to protect them.
In the other end of the scale are the operators above 50. They only count for 6,67 %. This can be
considered normative, in comparison to other jobs. Being a close protection officer requires a strong

physique and the body deteriorates with age and retaining muscle mass and physical stamina becomes
harder.
Answer

Percentile

3,33%
1

18-29

53,33%
16

30-39

36,67%
11

40-49

6,67%
2

50-59

0,00%
0

60-69
Respondenter i alt: 30

Your country of origin:

The vast majority of respondents were from United Kingdom. More than half of the respondents came
from The United Kingdom; England (13), Scotland (2) and Ireland (3). The rest of the respondents primarily
came from Europe; DK (4), GE (2), SE (1), SI (1), UA (1), RS (1) but also Asia; MY (1), FJ (1) and the Americas;
CAN (1), US (1) were represented.
The overrepresentation from UK can be explained by the fact that so many Brits are active on the different
social media. But it can also be that most of the bodyguard/close protection training facilities in the world
are situated in Great Britain, causing the UK market to be swamped with Close protection officers.
Looking at the rest of the numbers, especially the underrepresentation of US bodyguards indicates the
former rather than the latter.

Your Sex:
Choice

Male

Female

Percentile
96,88%
31
3,13%
1

Respondenter i alt: 32

Not surprisingly, males dominate this industry. This is also true for this survey (and for the registered
members of www.bodyguardskills.com). Theres definitely room for more female close protection officers.

Bodyguard education/training
Choice

Percentile

0,00%
0

None

53,13%
17

Military

15,63%
5

Police

37,50%
12

SIA licensed company

34,38%
11

BG Organisation

37,50%
12

Other
Respondenter i alt: 32

With a vast 176 %, the core of the business (or at least our respondents) is VERY well educated. The
answers here indicate that the majority of the respondents have taken more than one course/education in
the profession. From an employer perspective this is good, but since at least 37,5 % have taken a course
that is not regulated what so ever (counting the military, police and SIA as regulatory), theres room for
improvement.

Employment Type:
Choice

Full time

Part time

Long term contract

Short term contract

Independent contracter
Respondenter i alt: 32

Percentile
50,00%
16
12,50%
4
15,63%
5
9,38%
3
40,63%
13

Whether this is important or not, it shows that half of our respondents have full time employment and 40
percent work as independent. Only a few answered if they were employed long or short term, but since 50
% answered full time, it indicates long term employment. Apparently theres still work out there.
How Many Years Experience:
Choice

Percentile

31,25%
10

0-5 years?

25,00%
8

6-10 years?

25,00%
8

11-15 years

6,25%
2

16-20 years

12,50%
4

20+
Respondenter i alt: 32

Interesting enough almost a third had less than 5 years experience. The majority of the respondents has a
certain age and by nature should have some experience in their respective field, but this shows either that
many begin their bodyguard career as a second career (many soldiers do) OR that they leave early finding
it hard to gain employment. Comparing age and experience it seems that an average bodyguard/close
protection officer getting long term employment is well above 30.

Specialties:
Choice

Driver

SAP

Surveillance detection

Paramedic

Ordnance

Percentile
62,50%
20
50,00%
16
46,88%
15
12,50%
4
12,50%
4

CAT

18,75%
6

40,63%

Choice

Percentile

Logistics

13

65,63%
21

Team Leader
Respondenter i alt: 32

With 299 % this is the highest score in the survey. This also means that all respondents have been trained
or worked in AT LEAST 2 specialties, whereof driver and team leader is in the lead. Since we havent
specified it further, its hard to figure out which is which, but knowing the trade, it is evident that most
people start in a subordinate capacity and end up team leaders. Therefore this shows that Tony Scotti is
right, when claiming that the bodyguard training is upside down (See his interview on
www.bodyguardskills.com). The trade should primarily train Defensive driving as a major and the rest as
minor, at least to some extent. Looking for employment, driving, advance work and surveillance detection
should be trained and re-trained before submitting you resume.

Your Primary Clientele:

Choice

Executive Protection

Entertainment protection

Private military contractor

Diplomatic protection

Public officials

High net worth individuals

Small business owners

Percentile
59,38%
19
31,25%
10
25,00%
8
34,38%
11
28,13%
9
46,88%
15
21,88%
7

Respondenter i alt: 32

Most of the respondents have more than one source of income, it seems. The primary clientele is still
executives. However, since we havent specified the other categories, it is hard to see if the executives also
work as public officials or as diplomats. Entertainment protection is still a high on the scale and private
military contractors have taken up a quarter of the work force. Interesting to see that Small business
owners use personal protection in increasing numbers maybe a future boom for newcomers in the
business?

Are you registered with an agency:

Choice

Yes

No

Percentile
21,88%
7
78,13%
25

Respondenter i alt: 32

This question was something of a surprise. We didnt specify but simply put Agency, as it could mean an
employment agency, a company or even a government agency. Nonetheless only 21 percent answered yes,
indicating that the rest found their employment by themselves or thru some sort of personal network.

Conclusion:
The survey show that the average workforce is between 30-50 years, have been in the industry between 015 years, taken more than 2 different education/courses, have more than 2 specialties and work with an
executive client, found thru independent channels.
From a student perspective, it means that I should prepare for a long hard training period and after that a
long period of job seeking thru my peers.
From a trained close protection officer perspective, I should re-think my work area, if I cant find work. Also,
aiming at transportation rather than something else would be a good idea.
From a training provider perspective, given that theres so many TPs, maybe focusing on one of the major
specialties would be a good idea. It may also be a good idea to create a solid job placement platform for
your students, if you intent to thrive.

Henrik Bramsborg
www.Bodyguardskills.com