“Guaranteed employment!”
“Up to $20 per hour with benefits!”
“Guaranteed employment!”
“Work at airports!”
“Dozens of positions available immediately!”
Heard of these claims on-line? I’m sure you have. They are everywhere, on-line and in print. It is no secret that students who wish to obtain their security guard and/or private investigator license in Ontario must obtain basic security guard training from a registered training provider. The Ministry of Private Security and Investigative Services Branch maintains an active roster of all authorized training providers who can provide security guard and private investigator training in Ontario:
List of authorized training providers in Ontario
But does that mean that all training providers in Ontario are honest and ethical?
“The training industry in Ontario has a lot of unethical (and some times false advertising) schemes that the public should be aware of when seeking certification for licensing and employment”
– Interforce International Training Academy
Common Training Scams To Look Out For:
In our 10 years of being in business in the security and investigations industry, here is a compiled list of all known training scams offered on-line or in print:
The “Up to $20.00/hour + benefits” scam:
The most ludicrous training scam known in the industry is sadly this: Advertising a ridiculous hourly wage rate to entice the gullible to quickly register in order to land that high paying dream job…… not so fast! If it’s too good to be true, then it is.
You see, it is no secret that the security industry is not known to pay well in the beginning. Expect no more than $12.50/hour. At Interforce International, we start everyone at $12.00/hour, and this depends on the site location. We do have some select sites that have a minimum paying wage rate of $16.00/hour, but those are specialty sites in which a greater demand of training is required to diffuse hostile situations.
Remember that it is saying “up to” $20.00 per hour. The $20.00 figure is purely fictous just to entice you to spend your hard earned money with them. Do yourself a favour. If there was such thing as a starting wage of $20.00/hour, ask them the following:
- Which site is this?
- How many hours per week will I be working there?
- Can you give me this job offer in writing before I register with you?
- Can I visit the site to see if the site location is for me?
- How long is this job assignment for that pays $X per hour?
If they do provide you with written documentation about the above, make sure to pay attention to any fine print, and ensure there is a signature from the training provider. Your letter will then be a written contract in the event when it does not get honored.
Guaranteed employment!
Another famous (yet falsely advertised) scheme is to guarantee employment. There is no such thing as guaranteed employment, because if it were true, Interforce International would not be getting an influx of training graduate students seeking employment from the very company that guaranteed them employment in the first place.
To protect yourself from this scam, ask the training provider the following:
- Which site is this?
- How many hours per week will I be working there?
- Can you give me this job offer in writing before I register with you?
- Can I visit the site to see if the site location is for me?
- How long is this job assignment for that pays $X per hour?
Again, get it in writing, pay close attention to any fine print, and make sure they sign off on the form.
"Work at Airports!"
Interforce International Inc. would like everyone who comes across this claim to do some due diligence when responding to such ads. We do believe that this is false advertising in order to entice students to register with a training provider in an effort to land that dream job at the airport performing security screening, which of course does not exist.
Toronto Pearson Airport subcontracts only a few security guard companies to conduct security checks. Be aware if the training company who advertises airport security and their presence is not known at the airports. When in doubt, ask to speak with a representative from the security company who has the security contract at the airport to validate your potential employment at the airport.
50+ employment positions available immediately!
Great! So there should be a bulletin board on site at the training centre listing all the vacancies that need to be filled ASAP right? Well, that’s what there should be. The reason why there is no bulletin board advertising such jobs is (again), they do not exist.
Just like the $20.00/hour wage claim and the guaranteed jobs claim, here is what you can do to protect yourself from such scams:
- Which job site and client is this?
- How many hours per week will I be working there?
- Can you give me this job offer in writing before I register with you?
- Can I visit the site to see if the site location is for me?
- How long is this job assignment for that pays $X per hour?
Again, get it in writing, pay close attention to any fine print, and make sure they sign off on the form.
What to do if you have already been scammed?
The security guard and investigations industry is governed by the Ministry of Private Security and Investigative Services Act of Ontario. All complaints should go to them.
At Interforce International Training Academy, we remain firm to only advertise clear and concise information regarding pricing, training, and employment opportunities. Our goal is to provide HONEST, CLEAR, and CONCISE security guard and private investigator training.
