All You Need to Know About Locksmith Schools What are locksmith schools and do you really them to become a locksmith? Greenford industry-experts are here to answer your questions… The knowledge and skills required to become a locksmith may differ significantly from country to country across the UK. There isn’t one decisive answer to this question. In London, for example, a full two year apprenticeship under an established locksmith is not required to have a license granted. Though a very tough locksmith accreditation exam may be given by the Master Locksmiths Association, a not for profit trade association representing and approving Locksmiths in the United Kingdom, it is not required to practice the craft professionally. In many other cities, a person can just literally walk into a building and register the name of their business (i.e. “Locksmith Tooting Services”), pay a fee of £25 to £50 to get a locksmith license and walk out a legitimate locksmith…unfortunately. If you want to become a professional locksmith, there are steps you should take to learn the basics properly. Flip the pages of your phonebook for local locksmith schools that offer a course in basic locksmithing. In most cases, a course will generally run for 10 to 12 weeks. These courses cover the basics of what a residential locksmith needs to learn and they will provide you the opportunity to get in touch with locksmith companies that are looking for apprentices. If there aren’t any courses offered in your locality or if you don’t have the time and luxury to attend classes there are several good online locksmith courses that you can buy and complete in your own pace. The skills you master will earn you a locksmith certification. Note that a certification and a license are two completely different things. A certification, however, can be a good starting point into the trade. There are a lot of locksmiths that take these courses to add “color” to their resumes. They usually end up getting a nice pay raise at their current job after getting certified. Always remember that locksmiths earn anywhere from £22-£54 per hour and more for emergency, weekend and holiday services. If a hiring manager needs someone on his payroll that unlocks an
office door or a car stuck on company property, he’ll probably give a current employee a pay raise to save money. Since there are many different areas in the field of locksmithing, studying in locksmith schools may not be enough without an apprenticeship under the tutelage of a licensed locksmith. It may be the best way to learn different skills. Keep in mind that there are locksmiths that only work on safes, which definitely requires long hours of training to master. There are locksmiths that only work on lock-outs. This specialization can be very profitable since many people lock themselves out of their homes, businesses or cars each day. The tools required for this type of service are minimal and it’s easy work in most cases. Residential locksmiths in general may do much more, such as installing locks, drilling locks, and making new keys.