Locksmith Training
Want to become a Locksmith? There are currently countless so-called 'locksmith schools', offering 2-7 day locksmith training courses at very high prices. Over the last 8-10 years the number of ‘locksmiths’ all competing for the same work has grown exponentially.
There seems to be a public perception that Locksmithing is very easy and very lucrative. Unfortunately neither is true. Sure, you can learn a couple of tricks in an afternoon, but does that make you a locksmith? NO. When we started in locksmithing in 1982 the North London yellow pages had a total of sixteen locksmiths listed across two pages. In 2008 that figure was more than 500 locksmiths across 42 pages. Now that we are in the grip of a recession, what do these ‘locksmiths’ do, when the phone doesn’t ring any more? Answer – they try and teach the very people who have heard that Locksmithing is very easy and very lucrative! What they end up teaching you, who knows? Chances are you will just be embarrassed by your lack of knowledge and experience on each and every job you go on, if you do not have, real and comprehensive, on the job training. Consider this all too common scenario:
You paid your £1000 to the very nice people at “Learn to be a locksmith in 5 minutes Ltd” You purchased the useless set of tools that they told you was essential, for another £500. You bought a van, spent your hard-earned money on advertisments, business cards and stock. Finally, after an agonising wait you get a call, a job, amazing: A lady is locked out on the other side of town, it’s pouring with rain and she has left her keys on the bus. She has borrowed her neighbour's yellow pages, found your number and is waiting on her doorstep with her two young children, one of whom is crying. She tells you on the phone that “its’ a normal yale lock”. You arrive, take a look and find that yes, there is a traditional yale night latch, which you know you can slip open in a second, but wait, what is this other lock?, oh no, it's a mortice lock and you can’t tell which one! She didn’t say anything about a mortice lock on the phone. ok, you try to calm down and gather your thoughts, you suddenly remember that you paid £100 for a mortice lock identification book, with all the colour photos of the drill points. You get the book from the van, you look and look but can’t make your mind up. Is it the lock on page 27? Or the one on page 55? Oh no, page 35 looks likely as well, what do you do? You make an executive decision, after all, you’re your own boss, you’re the managing director, you’re a ‘Locksmith' - the nice man on the training course said you were, he even gave you a certificate that said “Qualified Locksmith” that he made on his laptop computer. Right, page 35 it is, decision made. You drill a hole and miss the stump , ok, think again, try page 55, drill again, miss the stump. Must be page 27, drill again, drill bit is a bit blunt by now, but keep going, SNAP! drill bit snapped in the lock, you look at your watch, you can’t see it it’s dark, the lady is very helpful, both her children are now crying and she says; ”I thought you were a bloody locksmith, you have been here nearly two hours and my door is still not open” “it’s not like that on the telly, that bloke Jason on Paddington Green does it seconds” You try to explain that it’s a particularly difficult lock and “not what you normally come across” Then the lady delivers the body blow, the coup de grace, “well the same thing happened a year ago and the locksmith picked both locks open” you say that's not very likely, but the lady says “I still have the receipt inside the flat” “I think you don’t know what you’re doing do you?” Now your face is red, very red, thank god it’s dark or she would see exactly how embarrassed and out of your depth you really are. What do you do now? Your last drill bit is blunt and snapped off in the lock, your cordless drill is nearly flat and your spare batteries are no better. Every fibre of your being is shouting, GO get in the van and GO. It wasn’t like this when I drilled that lock open in that warm, bright dry workshop, it wasn’t like this at all. That sloppy old lock came open easily, why is this happening to me? Then it dawns on you, the final realisation, I am not a real locksmith, I have neither the experience or the training to do 95% of what this job description calls for. Some are quite professional, offering a few different courses. But all the courses are short, they want your money but in the shortest possible time.
Some centres will train more than 50 candidates a month, that’s over 600 a year placing adverts in the yellow pages. How many are still working as locksmiths 12 months later, not many, probably less than 5%.
What do we offer?
We train a maximum of 4 candidates a year. The candidate will accompany a proper working locksmith for real on the job training six days a week fro three months. They will learn the skills necessary to work as a locksmith in London. It is really important to learn London first because the massive diversity of locks used in London will prepare you for any city or town in the UK. We don’t have fancy brochures or make false claims, we simply teach you how to become a working locksmith, it’s a simple as that. You will be shown how to open and replace locks. You will be shown how to install door, window locks & digital locks. You will be shown how to install and repair audio phone entry systems. You will be shown how to identify key types and how to cut basic keys. You will be shown how to operate Silca computerised key cutting machines. You will be shown how to stock a van with tools and locks – ready for work. In fact, if we feel that after three months you still need more training, we will train you for a further month free of charge. We don’t try to sell you any tools, we do however allow you to use our contacts to obtain your tools at true trade prices. We are very selective about who we train, many candidates are refused if we suspect their intentions are not honest or truthful.
Before you can even apply you have to have yourself CRB checked and Police vetted. What does it cost?
When you find out the cost it will seem expensive but please bear in mind, this is REAL training, not a phoney certificate a bag full of tools that you won’t ever use.
But it could mean the difference between success and failure.
If you are interested, send us an email explaining exactly why we should consider you for the next available slot.
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