How to get hired
Through a licensed security agency
Under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 (PSARA), an agency that supplies guards must hold a licence from the state's Controlling Authority, and the licence is valid only in that state. You can check an agency on the PSARA licensing portal, which links to the licences issued in each state, or on your state's own PSARA page. If the agency is not listed, do not join it: unlicensed agencies are the ones that skip PF, hold back the first month's pay and disappear.
The Act sets who an agency can hire as a guard: an Indian citizen aged at least 18 and below 65, who has completed the prescribed training and passes a character and antecedent check, which the agency gets done through the police. Most agencies also ask for class 10, a height and fitness check, and no criminal record.
The training you need
The Central Model Rules, 2020 set the training for a new guard at a minimum of 100 hours in the classroom and 60 hours of field training, spread over at least 20 working days. It covers access control, fire fighting, first aid, crowd control, reading identity documents and handling emergencies. Ex-servicemen and former police personnel do a shorter course, at least 40 classroom hours and 16 field hours over seven working days. States may adopt these rules with changes, so ask the agency which institute trains you and whether you get a certificate in your name.
Ask clearly, before you start, whether you pay for the training and the uniform. Some agencies deduct them from the first salaries. Get the amount in writing, because it is the most common source of disputes in the first month.
Directly with hotels, campuses and companies
Five-star hotels, large manufacturers, banks and corporate offices also hire security staff on their own rolls: security executive, loss prevention associate, CCTV operator, security officer. These roles usually want a few years at an agency or in the forces, a graduate degree for officer posts, and certificates in fire safety or first aid. Hotels in particular look for guards who can speak politely to guests in English and Hindi.
Ex-servicemen
Ex-servicemen get the shorter training route and are hired straight into supervisor and officer roles by many agencies and companies. Keep your discharge book and PPO handy, and ask your Zila Sainik Board about re-employment openings in your district.
Documents
- 10th marksheet (12th or degree for officer posts)
- Aadhaar, PAN, bank passbook, photos
- Training certificate, if you already hold one from a previous agency
- Discharge book, for ex-servicemen
- Police verification, which the agency arranges but may ask you to help with
Shifts, overtime and the ladder
Most guard postings run 12-hour shifts, day or night, often six or seven days a week. The OSH Code sets overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate, so if your posting is 12 hours, ask the agency how the hours beyond the normal day are counted and paid. "Fixed salary, 12 hours" with no overtime line is worth questioning. On a salary up to ₹21,000 a month, ESI should be deducted (0.75% from you), which gives you hospital cover; PF should be deducted too.
Women can now be posted on night shifts with their consent, and the employer must provide safety and transport.
The ladder is guard, head guard, supervisor, then field officer or assistant security officer who looks after several sites, then security officer and manager. Fire safety training and the ability to run a CCTV control room are what move people off the gate. Moving from an agency to a hotel's or company's own rolls is the biggest jump in pay and respect.