Despite only a third of Belgians (36%) knowing what the job entails, nine out of ten say they respect the security guards they come across in everyday life, a new study has shown.
These results come from a study by Social Security Fund of the security guard FSEG, in collaboration with polling firm Ipsos, who questioned a thousand Belgians concerning what they knew about the occupation.
The FSEG also aims to inform the Belgian population about the profession and, indirectly, to convince more candidates to take up the occupation. Given that security guards' tasks are continually increasing, the profession is in danger of becoming an occupation with skills shortages. This year, as in 2018, the sector intends taking on 4,000 guards.
According to the inquiry, if 90% of Belgians respect the people doing this work, while only 19% of guards - 2,112 of them were also questioned - think they are respected and appréciated by the populace.
The study also found that men view the job as monotonous and boring, whereas women consider the work to be stressful and physically demanding. Once in the job, this perception changes totally: 48% of female guards say the position is very attractive for women (against only 25% of the Belgian population). Around 40% of the population thinks the job is off-putting, versus 26% of the guards themselves.
The Brussels Times
