Security jobs for Games queried

A PLAN to boost Cairns security guard numbers ahead of the Commonwealth Games has been welcomed by a local employer but questions remain what long-term effect it will have on the jobs market.

Up to 100 jobs are now available in the notoriously transient local security industry to support Games events in Cairns.

The state government will also subsidise security guard training for eligible jobseekers.

Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the Cairns Convention Centre to watch the preliminary rounds of the basketball competition from April 5-10 next year.

A1 Dial A Guard Security operations manager Chris Walker struggles to fill security guard positions each week.

He said a new pool of security guards would be a boost to the industry but predicted most of those trained for the Games would leave town soon after.

“Every security company struggles to find guards, so a pool will be great but I’m not sure how long it will last. I employ three out of 15 people who apply for jobs,” Mr Walker said.

“People think being a security guard means you can just be big and dumb, but you have to write reports and talk to the public. And, being a security guard is really boring 99 per cent of the time, most of the time it’s just surveillance.

“Then we have people and we give them a shift and they say ‘no we’re going to a party’.”

A1 Dial A Guard Security has been contracted to supply guards for the Elton John concert at the end of the month.

“We had three security companies involved and we struggled to find the 70 guards needed,” Mr Weldon said.

Queensland Treasurer and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said the government wanted to provide “a genuine legacy for locals after the Games”.

“(We) have developed a strategy to help expand the security provider network in Cairns and support future employment opportunities within the industry,” he said.

“Individuals who complete a Certificate III in Security Operations will be equipped with the skills needed to maintain community safety before, during and after the Games.”