Big ticket, little ticket — what is that supposed to be?
The confusion is great
Again and again one reads in job offers, job applications or course offers about the big or small “Security certificate” — sometimes just called a large or small note.
Such terms are also frequently used in forums, on social networks or even on the pages of course providers. But beware: There is no such thing as a large or small security pass!
What is meant by “security certificate”?
Section 34a of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung) contains important provisions on what a person must fulfil if he or she wants to “professionally guard the lives or property of other people”. The § 34a GewO is primarily aimed at Security contractor and regulates what they must fulfil in order to register a guarding trade. However, it also regulates that the tradesman may only entrust the performance of guarding tasks to persons as Workers who, as guards, on the one hand, are permitted to required Reliability on the other hand, have certain Minimum qualifications have to show. With regard to qualification, this ominous “certificate” often comes into play: by “large certificate” some mean the successful passed examination, i.e. proof of the passed test performance at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The “small certificate” is sometimes called the Participation in the briefing This is a course in which you only have to complete 40 teaching units and receive a certificate of attendance, the “certificate of attendance”. Proof of instruction, is given. During the instruction, no knowledge is systematically tested, only a kind of short comprehension test takes place. In the case of the examination of professional competence, on the other hand, there is a 120-minute written test and a subsequent oral examination. The Expertise test is accordingly clear higher-quality than the instruction and one is also allowed to take on special surveillance activities, such as patrols in public traffic areas or working as a shop detective. How the instruction procedure and the examination of competence work, what is asked and who does not have to take part in it, if applicable, is described (among other points) in the Surveillance Ordinance regulated.
Why are the wrong terms used for the expert knowledge examination?
In my estimation, this has various causes. Some people simply do not know any better, some pronounce Convenience only briefly of the “appearance” and some persons (especially companies) use intentionally wrong terms. Since the actually wrong terms are quite common in certain circles (especially among the less qualified), many people who want to prepare for the examination of professional competence simply search for the term “security certificate”, for example. Or else Companies mislead prospective customers into believing they have more than they actually have in them: In the past, there have always been training companies that offered a “safety specialist” qualification. That sounds like more! But what is actually included is usually “only” the preparation for the qualification. At a price of many hundreds or even more than a thousand euros. The specialist for protection and security, on the other hand, is a real 3‑year vocational training — there is a risk of confusion! My tip: So pay close attention to the terms used and, if in doubt, ask what is specifically meant by them. Drücken Sie sich selbst am besten klar aus und verwenden Sie die richtigen Begrifflichkeiten. Sie zeigen damit, dass Sie sich auskennen 🙂
Recently, Jörg Zitzmann also dealt with the issue of “large/ small appearances” in his podcast for protection and security in episode 328. As managing director of the Academy for Security, he regularly receives such enquiries and clarifies: https://www.podcast-fuer-schutz-und-sicherheit.de/podcast/328-grosser-oder-kleiner-securityschein/
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