SIA Door Supervisor Course in London

What the course covers

The course leads to the Level 2 Award for Door Supervisors in the Private Security Industry, the qualification the SIA asks for before it will issue a Door Supervisor licence. You study four units, face to face, with a qualified trainer at the training centre:

1. Principles of working in the private security industry. Licensing law, health and safety, fire safety, emergency procedures, and how to report incidents and keep records.
2. Principles of working as a door supervisor. Searching people and property, consent and the law around refusals and ejections, reasonable force, drug awareness and age checks.
3. Application of conflict management. Spotting the early signs of trouble, communicating under pressure, calming aggression before it turns physical, and what to do afterwards.
4. Application of physical intervention skills. Disengagement, low-level restraint, escorting, and how to keep yourself and others safe, including the medical risks of restraint.

Emergency First Aid is taught on day one, in the first half of the day. You practise CPR and defibrillator use, the recovery position, choking, serious bleeding, shock and burns.

How the week runs

The course opens with Emergency First Aid in the first half of day one. Most centres then teach the theory, and move on to conflict management and physical intervention once you understand the law that governs them. Revision and mock papers come near the end, followed by your exams at the centre. Your trainer assesses the practical skills as you go, so there is no separate assessment day.

Who can book

You need to be at least 18 with the right to work in the UK. No previous security experience is needed. The SIA carries out its own criminal record check when you apply for your licence, and anyone who has lived outside the UK for six months or more in a row in the last five years will need overseas checks as well.

Bring photo identification and two proofs of address dated within the last three months to your first session.

What you can do with the licence

A Door Supervisor licence is one of the most flexible front-line licences in private security. It covers pubs, bars and nightclubs, hotels and restaurants, concerts, festivals and stadiums, retail and shopping centres, construction gates and corporate reception. Pay depends on the venue and shift, and nights and weekends usually pay more.

If you are renewing rather than starting out, you need the Door Supervisor refresher instead. For guarding work only, see the SIA Security Guard course.