IPVM is ramping up coverage of installation topics, tools, and techniques. I spoke with a 35+ year integrator installer lead tech, and he shared a simple answer to 'What training do installers need to be great and fully prepared for security work?'
His answer: 'They need to be trained as Electricians.'
The basis of his statement isn't crazy, considering how close a high-voltage electrician's typical scope of work is compared to integrators. I asked him 'What about IT experience?', and he suggested that a good tech can 'pick up the needed skills OTJ' but that learning to use tools and installation techniques was much more difficult and is best learned in mandatory apprentice/journeyman/helper periods before full licensure, and the base knowledge an electrician uses is the same for integrators.
But the cost of training an electrician is far, far higher than a security tech. And an electrician charges multiples more per hour than security tasks. Also the amount of knowledge those workers have is typically far greater.
Do you agree that good security techs are essentially trained the same as electricians?