security guard

security officer

MacCon Public Safety

Pros:
The main perks of this company was the flexibility of hours. I worked here during my post-secondary years and it was easy to limit shifts during the school semester but pick more up during the summer. 
Another perk was the free ABST training the company provided upon hiring to get you started and various other training courses they offered for free as well. 
The experience itself was also interesting as the company operated at various sites and events across the city.

Cons:
The pay rates were only slightly above industry standards (at the time it was only a few dollars over minimum) and your uniform and equipment comes out of your own pockets; there were used uniforms and equipment available, but it still didn't take the load off of having to pay for most of your own gear. 
While the training was free some of the instruction was questionable. The first aid course offered had odd "acting" scenarios very different from a standard first aid course. One of the things that stuck out the most was that the instructor told the class that the best way to get peoples attention in a crowded area when someone is having a medical emergency is to shout "fire"; I honestly can't see this being a good idea in crowded areas like a beer garden or festival (certainly not something taught at St John's Ambulance). Even more absurd was that the instructor gave me a failing mark for not being able to act out scenarios convincingly enough despite the fact that I nearly aced the written exam. Needless to say I went to an external training provider and got the certification without any issue (albeit again out of my own pockets; a recurring theme).
Even more bizarre, during the flood of 2013 all of top management and a fair number of guards drove out to High River to help, commendable, but those such as myself that were scheduled to work shifts in the city were left in the dark with no site orders; my first shift during the flood had me Googling where my work shift was, not exactly ideal management.
While the managers generally try to encourage camaraderie, it certainly felt that those who gelled the best and got into the inner-cohort were those with the gung-ho security guard attitude (mall cops, police wannabes, etc.), not exactly a terrible workplace culture, but it was uncomfortable. 
This is what ultimately lead to my own departure from the company; near the end of my tenure communication with management became short and delayed, and it felt like they generally didn't want me to work there anymore. After moving on I did reach back out to them for a reference about 10 months down the road only to be told that they wouldn't provide references to those who haven't worked for them for over a year; note that I had left only 10 months prior and I had to email several people numerous times to get a response.

Summary:
My general advice is to avoid this company if you'd like to have a decent wage. If you're looking for work in the security field I recommend airport screening; at least you get nearly twice the pay plus great benefits and good experience. Otherwise, if you're looking to make security work a life career or have not been able to get into law enforcement and looking to get as close to the action as possible, then this company might be right for you.

A good place to work for people deadset in becoming a cop, but it also feels like a place where law enforcement aspirants go to full-on LARP as cops, but without any of the respect or professionalism that actual law enforcement officers receive.
One of the biggest issues I had with this company was their blatant disregard for their employees' time. They valued your  time at $0 an hour and expect you to give 110% by asking every employee to do countless hours of mandatory unpaid training. The company also enforced some of the most asinine procedures and policies, such as requiring a spotter every time a vehicle was put in reverse, even in completely empty areas. These policies were not only tedious and time-consuming but also had no real purpose or benefit.
Furthermore, the company had a normalized power trip culture and an overall unfriendly atmosphere. I found that my coworkers were frequently rude towards homeless people and each other. It made for an extremely uncomfortable tenure, and I would not recommend anyone subject themselves to such a bizarre work environment.
To make matters worse, the company required an excessive amount of unpaid training that was largely irrelevant to the work we were doing. The mandatory training was almost a complete waste of time and added unnecessary stress to the already uncomfortable work environment. A couple of the gullible law enforcement aspirants that work here will willfully defend their own exploitation.
Finally, the company provided uniforms that were completely unsuitable for the summer heat, posing a MAJOR safety hazard for heat stroke. Overall, I would advise anyone considering working for this company to think twice and consider other opportunities in the field. Best of luck
Pros: Basically impossible to get fired/ easy to get hired. Sometimes you could leave a few minutes early. Flexible scheduling. Free parking for downtown shifts. 
Cons: 100 hours of mandatory/irrelevant training. LOW wage + hostile work environment. Management gives long and tedious speeches as frequently as possible. Never permits shortcuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions. Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, and resolutions. The micro managers here bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.


typical shifts involve mobile patrols of parkades, talking with Vulnerable People and reporting discrepancies to others to clean up/handle.

In my time at the company I was never required to go hands on, it was always possible to defuse a situation through communication. 

There is ALOT of unpaid training that goes on at the company, and since pay increases are tied to what training you have completed you should expect to either do 50+hr of training a year or stay at the starting wage. 

wage increases are also done as "bonuses" which is not effected by overtime or holiday pay. even with the "bonuses" you should expect to be paid minimum wage as the increases are 25 cent increments. company should be described as a Growth stage, as it seems like all profit made by the company is used to expand assets, maybe this is why they can't pay their people?

the work can be enjoyable if you make friends with co-workers same as anyplace, but don't expect to stay here long term, the time investment is not worth it. that being said it is a great starting point for a security career as you will encounter situations that will test you while having a system to fall back on.

Co workers are mostly solid, friendly individuals who do a great job.  Duties are interesting, and vary depending on the site.  They take good care of their fleet and have the nicest vehicles in town.

Management is toxic however.   If you get in good with the owner, you're set!  For example, their operation manager is 22 years old.  He manages people with decades in the industry and former law enforcement officers, which doesn't make much sense, but there it is.  If you aren't one of the chosen few, be prepared to be put down, have sick time denied, and be stuck as a guard forever.  The favoritism displayed is both blatant and appalling. 

Seems like a alright place to work until you realize it is a very toxic environment. Very low pay to put your life at risk. Management refuses to interact with you unless you are favoured. Hundred of hours of unpaid training. Staff is unorganized and don’t respect their managers and spend lots of time playing with their phones and goofing off. Everyone is sleeping with someone. It’s like high school, but with grown adults. Disgusting behaviour from a company that is contracted by the City of Calgary. 

They were an awesome company to work for, lots of training courses provided, plus shifts available to pick up.  Wish it was a full time site company cause once you work for them, you have a hard time working anywhere else in the security industry.

This place will hire you very easily. Then charge you $200 for a Uniform that doesn't fit. They claim it is returned to you when u return the uniform however. If you get it altered/hemmed u have to keep their extremely uncomfortable pants and loose your deposit. 

They also want you to buy equipment from them. If you don't you won't last there for 3 months/150 hrs of work coz they will fire you at that point so they can charge you for returning the uniform. 

This place is a total scam. Don't work here.

A typical work day for me is the fact that It's always interesting to see what the tasks may be, who my partner for that day may be, or just simply the fact that I just like being around the people I work with every day. They have to be the fairest company I have ever worked for and it has been a treat to learn and experience how they work and what needs to be done to everyone to be safe and to create a fun but professional workplace environment.  

I found the job very fun and exciting especially because every shift is different and you come across a lot of different people whether you're working alongside  them or helping them. There's career growth opportunities as long as you stay long enough and do the trainings. Management was great!

I have been around full time for a few years and still have nothing bad to say about the management team! I have been given opportunities and education I would not have received otherwise. There has been nothing but support from this team. You definitely get out whatever you put into this company.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Security guard 5 salaries reported	$40,901 per year
Security officer 1 salary reported	$43,000 per year

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