The short version. Good bodyguard training teaches executive protection principles and then makes you practice them: formations, motorcades, site advances, and the physical and mental pressure of the job. The most basic course is at least a week of coursework. No course can guarantee you a job, so treat training as the first step and vet the school before you pay.
Gone are the days when physical size alone could land you a role in executive protection. Clients expect people who understand security principles, protective tactics and crisis management, and who can apply them on a real assignment. Training is where that starts. I’m Hucky Austin, and I’ve spent a 25-year career in this work, starting on Prince’s protection detail.
What a good course covers
- The foundations. What executive protection is, where it came from, and how a detail works, including domestic and foreign procedures.
- Hands-on exercises. Formations, motorcades and site advances, run as real-world scenarios rather than lectures.
- Advance work. Planning routes, knowing the venue before you arrive, and contacting the hotel’s security director ahead of time. (I learned that last one the hard way on my first assignment.)
- Physical and mental demands. A serious course pushes your strength, endurance and agility, and tests your judgment under pressure.
- What the certificate means. A good school is clear that a certificate shows you attended. Experience is what gets you hired.
How to choose a course
Decide what kind of protection work you want first: corporate, entertainment or high-threat. Then look for training that fits it, check the prerequisites, and do your homework on the school itself. Talk to people who finished the program. Read what working protectors say about it. And never pay anyone who promises you a job at the end.
I put the full checklist on one page: how to vet an executive protection school, and the red flags to watch for.
Training never really ends
One course is a start. There’s licensing, new technology and new procedures, and you never stop sharpening your skills. Training is also one of the best places to start your network, so make the most of your time there.
Questions about training?
Email info@bodyguardcareers.com if you want advice on choosing a course or whether a Bodyguard Careers class is currently scheduled.