When you first complete your official OFQUAL regulated locksmith training course and go touting for business either via social media or via your own local locksmith website or a  listing on trusted local locksmiths websites such as Smart locksmiths you’ll notice that there are still quite a lot or negative feedback about the local locksmith industry such as reports of poor workmanship, unnecessary part replacement and massive overcharging, but why is this?

Many people don’t realise this, but the locksmith industry is still unregulated, this means that anyone, whether they know the trade or not can advertise themselves as a locksmith and they are not breaking any laws. In fact I could advertise myself as an emergency callout locksmith and simple turn up to someone’s home or business and proceed to basically “break in” using a drill, hammer and other basic everyday tools and then present a bill for my efforts, and it happens all the time.

So Have These Amateur Locksmiths Had Any Training?

This is another often discussed topic in the locksmith industry as many or these rogue locksmiths will indeed have completed some kind of training course and will hold some sort of certificate that they believe is real and this is where the main problem lies.

Because the industry is not regulated anyone can set up a locksmith training centre and many of these training centres have been around for years all referring to themselves as experts – a word that means nothing – and using clever business names to sound official, I could name a few but a quick Google search for “Locksmith Training Courses” will give you the answer you want.

Professionals who are involved in the industry know that only Train Locksmiths, The UK’s only Locksmith Training College, based in Greater Manchester offers professional, in-depth locksmith training courses, courses that have achieved OFQUAL (The Government Office of Qualifications and Examinations) Regulation which to this day are the only locksmith training courses to achieved such a high level and the only courses approved for Government funding as well as ELCAS (Armed Forces) and other funding.

So how are these other locksmiths training centres still getting people to sign up?

The official OFQUAL regulated locksmith training course takes a number of months to complete, and involves both written and practical training, just like any official college or university course. The official course costs around £2,500, however funding is available and lots or people will either not pay anything (100% funding) or get a discount, These OFQUAL course are popular with ex-armed forces looking for a new career as they accept ELCAS credits.

The un-official courses are usually just 5 days long and cost under £1000 and that’s why they still get students signing up. Many people will be amazed to hear that you can learn an entire trade in just 5 days and for under £1000 but the truth is, of course you can’t learn how to be a locksmith in 5 days and this is why the industry is flooded with clueless amateurs.

So Why Do These Unofficial Locksmith Training Centres Do This?

These training centres have no interest in providing proper training. The truth is, their business model is to turn around as many students as possible; they don’t care if you know the trade by the end of the 5 days or not. Pass rate is 100% and they’ll even provide you with a meaningless certificate at the end to make you believe that you are qualified.

To be frank, if this wasn’t so serious it would be funny, but it’s not funny because there are many victims; the students who have thrown away £1000 on a worthless piece of paper when he/she could have probably got funding and done the official course for free and the customers who get locked out of their home and ends up with thousands of pounds worth of damage to their property when a professional could have probably picked to lock. Basically these unofficial locksmith training centres are scamming the industry which is why many have called for regulation

Will The Locksmith Industry Ever Become Regulated?

There was talk of regulation of the locksmith industry back in 2019 and this was the reason that OFQUAL took steps to finally regulate a couple of locksmith training courses, one  domestic and commercial locksmith diploma and one  automotive locksmith diploma.

The problem is that there are many thousands of locksmiths currently operating in the UK, true, some are unskilled amateurs but many are in fact professionally trained locksmiths who know their trade inside out so to one day turn around and say “The Locksmith Industry is now regulated” and “you must have taken and passed the official course to trade” would be unfair especially when only one training college in the entire UK is qualified to run the official course.

Why is only one Locksmith Training College qualified to run the new course?

This goes back to what we spoke about earlier where we said that anyone could set up a so called locksmith training centre regardless of their qualifications or skills, but to run OFQUAL regulated courses you need staff to be qualified as teachers and this is why Train Locksmiths promotes itself as a training college and run other course too and the amateur training centres don’t.

So are they any steps being taken to fix this?

It was believed that when OQUAL regulated the two locksmiths training course back in October 2019 they could be taught across the country in various training centres and 100’s of locksmith every year could achieve this top qualification which would eventually lead to official regulation.

But as no other training centre employed staff with teaching qualifications so they could not legally run the OFQAUL courses leaving just Train Locksmiths to hold the fort.

In the months since these new course where released one well known locksmith training centre has resisted any partnership with the official training college – a partnership that would have seen their staff trained, qualified and their training centre approved – choosing instead to continue to push their current business model and run their own worthless courses which has been a shock for many.

This company even took to social media in a desperate attempt to spread fake news insisting that the new OFQUAL course where fake and that THEY are the foremost experts in the locksmith industry, a very sad state of affairs to say the least.

Because of this unfounded resistance regulation is still a long way away but a number of universities and colleges are expected to offer these official courses in 2021.

There are still many benefits to taking the official in-depth OFQUAL regulated locksmith training courses over the 5 day courses.

1. 1. You’ll be professionally trained and will be able to do your job quicker, better and build up a solid reputation in the locksmith industry
   2. You may be able to get funding or even do the course for free
   3. As word spreads of an OFQUAL regulated locksmith diploma many construction sites and business will insist on this qualification before employing you